Douglas Wise, a former Defense Intelligence Agency deputy director and former senior CIA operations officer, is back in the news this week. In an interview with The Australian, Wise admits that he and others always knew that the emails on the Hunter Biden laptop were likely genuine. It was a remarkable admission from one of more than 50 former intelligence officials who signed a letter dismissing the Hunter Biden laptop story before the 2020 presidential election as likely “Russian disinformation.” Yet, Wise still maintains that, while true, he and the other officials were right to call it out as likely “disinformation.” Arguing that something is true, but still constitutes disinformation sounds a lot like . . . well . . . disinformation.
The infamous letter from the former intel officials (including such Democratic figures like John Brennan, James Clapper, Leon Panetta and Jeremy Bash) was used by the media to assure the public that there was nothing to see in the scandal. It was the perfect deflection in giving a cooperative media cover to bury the story of how the Biden family engaged in influence peddling worth millions with foreign figures, including some with foreign intelligence connections.
It worked beautifully. It was not until two years later that NPR, the New York Times, and other media outlets got around to telling the public the truth.
Now some of the signatories are trying to rehabilitate themselves. It is not hard. Figures like Bash have been rewarded for their loyalty. Others like Brennan and Clapper have become regulars on CNN to continue to give their takes on intelligence.
Wise, however, has tried to find some redeemable role in the letter. He told The Australian that “All of us figured that a significant portion of that content had to be real to make any Russian disinformation credible.” So the emails and photos showing criminal acts with prostitutes and thousands of emails on influence peddling was likely true, but that truth only made them more dangerous forms of Russian disinformation.
It is that easy. True or not, the story was dangerous in detailing the corruption of the Biden family before the election. Done and done.
It also means that, under this dubious logic, you can spike any true story that is embarrassing to the President or the party as presumptive disinformation.
Indeed, Wise says that it was “no surprise” to learn that the emails that he helped spike were actually genuine.
He is not alone. Washington Post columnist Thomas Rid wrote that “We must treat the Hunter Biden leaks as if they were a foreign intelligence operation — even if they probably aren’t.
Let that sink in for a second. It does not matter if these are real emails and not Russian disinformation. They probably are real but should be treated as disinformation even though American intelligence has repeatedly rebutted that claim. It does not even matter that the computer was seized as evidence in a criminal fraud investigation or that a Biden confidant is now giving his allegations to the FBI under threat of criminal charges if he lies to investigators.
Yet, they still wanted the media to treat the story before the election as part of “Russian overt and covert activities that undermine US national security” as a story with “all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.”
Keep in mind that these “experts” literally had nothing beyond a potentially damaging story against the Bidens before an election. That was all that it took for these experts to rush out their letter.
Wise does not address that American intelligence reached the exact opposite conclusion and found no evidence — none — of Russian involvement or some foreign disinformation conspiracy.
Wise and the other signatories did not want to wait for any facts to support their claim. They rushed out the letter to an eagerly awaiting media to spike the story before the election. Now, they are seeking plausible deniability that they were political operatives sent on a political hit job. It is as implausible as calling a presumed true story “disinformation.”
No, this is not treason but yes it is betrayal. The question is should they be included in that level of hell in Dante’s Divine Comedy where Brutus, Cassius and Judas hover around Satan for their acts of betrayal (treason and betrayal in Brutus and Cassius case) . I think yes. The other question is should they all now take a rope and find a tree and, in a final act of expiation, remove themselves from the body politic and the shame that they have cast upon themselves, their families, and our nation. In this regard I admire the Japanese (seppuku) and how they handled shame and betrayal and the Romans (falling on your sword) for betrayal, loss or incompetence. Of course that means one has to have a sense of honor and shame and they have neither.
Lastly I am not sure if D.C. is a bad 3 Stooges movie, 1984, Animal Farm, Battleship Potemkin, The Pirates of Penzance, Dr. Strangelove, 3 Days of the Condor or all of the above. Certainly isn’t Alexander Nevsky.
So he admits they were trying to throw the election in Biden’s favor. How nice.
Why did they feel compelled to sign the Letter in mass? What was the compelling reason that they did that….not one of them offered a clear cut explanation and very carefully couched their language in that Letter so the language could be argued…..but what was not nuanced at all was the clear intent to do in the New York Post revelations about the Laptop and its contents. Their motive is clear as can be….they KNEW those revelations would scuttle Joe Biden’s campaign.
Now they have the unmitigated gall to come forth and tell us that they did not do what they clearly did and have been proven to be the corrupt partisan hacks they are…..don’t pee down my neck and tell me it is raining outside!
John Durham should be bringing charges against each one of them….even if the DC Jury finds them innocent as they do when deciding the fate of fellow Democrats and other Government employees.
“Douglas Wise, a former Defense Intelligence Agency deputy director and former senior CIA operations officer, is back in the news this week. In an interview with The Australian, Wise admits that he and others always knew that the emails on the Hunter Biden laptop were likely genuine. It was a remarkable admission from one of more than 50 former intelligence officials who signed a letter dismissing the Hunter Biden laptop story before the 2020 presidential election as likely “Russian disinformation.” Yet, Wise still maintains that, while true, he and the other officials were right to call it out as likely “disinformation.” Arguing that something is true, but still constitutes disinformation sounds a lot like . . . well . . . disinformation.”
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Why would anyone with any critical thinking skills put any stock in the word of people who are paid to lie ostensibly –but not exclusively — for their country? Why? And especially our “elites” who have cemented themselves as the dumbest group of leaders the world has ever known. The county is in decline not because of the fool Dims but because the thinking members of the populace have taken a holiday. The public schools bear some resonsibility but, in the main, it’s the damn gullibility of the American public egged on by the socialist/radical elements of the Dims that bear the responsibility. They’re playing us for suckers only because we are suckers.
“but because the thinking members of the populace have taken a holiday. “
You have that right. We have to move the refrigerator further and further away until people view what is happening. Full bellies remain on holidays.
If we had real patriotic leadership in government, those “leaders” would be trying to “unite” Americans of both parties for the nation’s interests against foreign threats – instead of trying to divide us for their own self-serving interests!
Republicans, Democrats and Independents will never agree on things completely, but real leaders would try to bridge those differences, not exploit and divide us. All of them swore an Oath of Office to the very same U.S. Constitution [a wartime governing charter].
Maybe Congress needs to start leading by example! It could start with civility rules in Congress but still consistent with First Amendment freedom of speech. Maybe a rule only allowing attacking the substance of the “message” instead of attacking the integrity of the speaker? Sort of like high school debate clubs that their own kids participate in.
Lots of progressive rats fleeing the biden ship. This does not bode well for the spy in chief.
America is in immense decline. The U.S. has fallen into socialism, and soon to be full blown communism. Our government, justice system, and government agencies is corrupt beyond repair.
Agree. With young Americans being indoctrinated to hate all that America stands for, we have no hope. Glad I’m on the sunset side of life and not just beginning.
Responding to Sandsgrandmother:
It’s a legitimate concern (too much socialism is bad) but be honest about the history.
Strong anti-communists, Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon were far more “socialist” than both Biden or Obama combined.
Eisenhower had a top tax rate exceeding 70% and a huge socialized infrastructure plan. Richard Nixon supported a far more “socialized” healthcare system than any Democratic president in 50 years.
George W. Bush essentially supported the “warrantless domestic spying” tactics of the communist block nations during the Cold War (ie: American agencies with mottos “to know everything” – an un-American concept of limited constitutional government). Some of the best selling books of the 21st Century are written by George Orwell in the 1950’s warning about communist block nations performing warrantless domestic spying on their own citizens (ie: “1984” and “Animal Farm”).
Voters, of all political parties, support “socialized” police protection, fire protection, public education, social security (fully subsidized by taxpayers after about 5 years of retirement) and other public welfare programs.
The problem with Puritan “labels” is it’s always a false argument. Not every voter or every issue fits cleanly into that label. Any politician that overturned the above programs would only serve a single term, never to be re-elected.
Svelaz – Eisenhower inherited the high tax rate from the Roosevelt/Truman adminstrations. At one time, Ihe top income tax rate was about 90%. The infrastructure bill that you mention, I assume, is the continential-wide interstate freeway sytem, that has made it much easier, safer, and cheaper to travel across the country. I would hardly call this socialism. It is the proper role of the federal government in a federal system. I will grant that Nixon did propose a government funded hospitalization bill (which Democrats opposed.) Maybe over time it would have saved money. It is also true that Bush played an important role in increasing spying on ordinary Americans. But is also true that most Republicans and conservatives view that change as misguided and want to reduce or elminate such spying. I don’t think most Democrats agree.
Dear Prof Turley,
A word to the wise, indeed. The Biden documents, like The Laptop, have all the classic hallmarks of Russian disinformation.
Now, a thought occurs to the mind: is all disinformation Russian? I submit there is no Russian disinformation, there is no American disinformation, there is only disinformation.
Joe Biden may have a crust of bread and such, but I don’t think the over 50 top intelligence officials have thought this thing through: if the Laptop really was planted Russian disinformation, a diabolical KGB plot, they, the IC, need to immediately check their blow-back valves .. . they’ve got a major LEAK!
It would be comical, if it weren’t so tragic. And because the world is round, we all have some different disinformation in common. ..
“And now there are only two ways out: to slide into a world war and a nuclear conflict, or to start the process of detente again, for which it is necessary to take into account the interests of all parties,” he said. “But for this, it is necessary to recognize politically that Russia has interests, that they must be taken into account in the construction of a new detente.”
“And most importantly, play honestly, do not deceive anyone, do not let in fog and do not try to make money on someone else’s blood,” Medvedchuk added. “But if the world political system is not capable of elementary decency, blinded by pride and its own mercantile interests, then even more difficult times await us.”
*Medvedchuk’s Ukrainian citizenship has been revoked.
I’m a conspiracy theorist. My pronouns are “They, Lied”.
There that old driving metaphor:
“We’re lost, but we’re making great time”.
If the leadership of the FBI and CIA were loyal to their constitutional Oath of Office (Title 5 US Code 3331 and Article VI of the Constitution) Americans would have greater support for these agencies.
With extreme secrecy comes extreme loyalty to one’s Oath of Office! The Oath of Office prohibits any official (contractor) from violating anyone’s constitutional rights.
‘It’s against reason,’ said Filby.
‘What reason?’ said the Time Traveller.
‘You can show black is white by argument,’ said Filby, ‘but you will never convince me.’
_____________________________________________________________________ The Time Machine, Chapter 1
Wise is no different than the FSB or the CCP. He used disinformation to influence the outcome of an election. He is a traitor and should be viewed as such. He should never be allowed to have a security clearance and should be barred from all work with the US government. The same goes for the rest of the letter signers. If they despised Trump they could have campaigned in the open and voiced their objections in an honest manner Instead they used their credentials and “moral authority” to lie and protect a corrupt candidate who may well be compromised by America’s most significant adversaries.
“Wise is no different than the FSB or the CCP.”
—
Maybe we are creating that type of individual in our security agencies and across the bureaucracy which in later years… It is beginning to seem that way.
“For some time I have been disturbed by the way the CIA has been diverted from its original assignment,”
“It has become an operational and at times a policy-making arm of the Government. This has led to trouble and may have compounded our difficulties in several explosive areas,” __Harry Truman
Truman called for a cessation of the CIA’s “operational duties”
Conspiracy theorists might say that Trump is lucky. He is still alive.
The most dangerous word in the Justice System and national security is “Assumed”.
America tortured, destroyed or caused the premature deaths of likely thousands of innocent Americans justified by using “”assumed” – like a Banana Republic without constitutional or legal due process.
“Assumed” means they don’t know! These are vital agencies with brave patriotic employees, but voters should really pay attention when anyone “assumes” something without sufficient hard evidence.
America has long history of being wrong and punishing the wrong people.
What we had was election interference by former intelligence officials and the media working together.
The IC, intelligence community, is the 4th branch of government. It operates with un-checked power. I heard a congress critter interviewed yesterday. When asked about what to do about Bidens Classified Document law breaking, he said we must wait for a determinination from the IC damage assessment.
This is the same IC pushing, russia, Russia! RUSSIA!!! for 5 years. Including The alpha bank server lie. And the Russia Bot lie, the Russia affected the 2016 election lie. AND the Trump “marked” classified documents are a crime lie.
National Security investigations are the Black whole the FBI and DoJ use to hide all of their unconstitutional abuses of basic civil rights.
Dear F***er Wise, where were you when foreign operatives were helping Hillary invent “Russian collusion?” You never offered any Republican, let alone Trump, the benefit of the doubt. Actually, swine just like you were leaking the lies.
The entire leadership of the FBI and CIA should be fired with extreme prejudice, and retired scum like you are just lying Democrat pigs. Nobody is fooled by your ruthless, obvious, treacherous partisanship.
If we think about this type of person and what happens in retirement, we see them being scattered far and wide into the corporate community where because of their status, they carry tremendous weight.
It is something to think about as government grows and so many former big government employees spread into influential positions across the country.
They are a cancer, Alan. Really disgusting hypocrites.
Diogenes, if one tries to cut the cancer out, his name and reputation will be destroyed forever.
They knew that if Trump won reelection he would definitely go after the deep state. They had to stop him by any means possible
“We must treat the Hunter Biden leaks as if they were a foreign intelligence operation — even if they probably aren’t.”
Yet again, we see that the truth is not a value to the Left. It will sacrifice anything — logic, personal integrity, America’s trust in its own institutions — to satisfy a desire (in this case, to elect Biden and get Trump).
We’ve seen this all before. Remember Memogate and Dan Rather? “Fake but accurate” ring a bell?
Excellent point!
“Fake but accurate” is now the flip side to “Genuine but too dangerous for you to be allowed to view”.
I’ll never believe Biden got 81 million votes. NEVER!
Loudmouth corrupt pedo THUG!
For all of Trump’s faults he wasn’t taking showers with his daughter.
The alphabet agencies are the problem.
What we had was election interference by former intelligence officials and the media working together.
This was treason.
Says a lot about the justice system that there are no negative consequences, only rewards
monumentcolorado wrote, “This was treason.”
18 USC Ch. 115: TREASON, SEDITION, AND SUBVERSIVE ACTIVITIES
§2381. Treason
Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere…”
Source
Although this was certainly a type of political betrayal and wildly unethical, I don’t know if it was illegal, it’s not treason at least not in the typical application of the word as listed above in the United States code.