New Details in Hunter Biden Story: Questions Over Veracity, Coverage Persist.

Coverage of the Hunter Biden allegations show unique framing on the left and the right. What are they saying?

New developments in the Hunter Biden laptop story are being reported. Attention is now centered on the New York Post’s sourcing, media coverage of the revelations, and their impact on this week’s presidential debate.

• Director of National Intelligence (DNI) John Ratcliffe told Fox News the US Intelligence Community does not believe the laptop in question was part of a Russian operation to influence the election. Despite Ratcliffe’s assertion, USA Today reports the FBI is investigating whether or not the laptop is Russian disinformation.
• The New York Times alleges the New York Post newsroom had concerns about the legitimacy of the story and at least two journalists did not want their name attached to the piece.
• Reports claim Fox News was offered the story and declined the scoop, citing credibility concerns. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s reliability was allegedly questioned earlier this year at Fox News. Giuliani currently serves as President Trump’s attorney.
• After the Post’s exposé was published, Fox News reported one particular email in question as authentic. The email discussed payment for Hunter Biden and his business associates, as well as payment for “the big guy”, referring to former Vice President Joe Biden.
• When the New York Post published the piece, Silicon Valley quickly limited the online spread of the story, with Twitter citing policy violations and Facebook saying there was a need to independently factcheck the story. The tech companies’ actions did little to quell the story’s reach based on data analyzed by Axios.
• The topic of Biden’s son and allegations of influence-peddling is expected to come up during the final presidential debate later this week, either by the moderator or President Trump himself.

• Boston Globe columnist Joan Vennochi frames the current story as an intentional smokescreen by the President to hide behavior not dissimilar to the Biden allegations.
• David Ignatius with the Washington Post characterized the entire incident, dating back to the days leading up to Hunter Biden joining the Burisma board, as not a scandal, but a personal tragedy that morphed into his responsibility for the family’s financial stability.
• The Huffington Post and Daily Beast are leaning heavily on a letter signed by dozens of former intelligence officials, including former DNI James Clapper, all of whom insist the “smear campaign” of Hunter Biden is likely a “Russian information operation.”

• The Federalist and Fox News’ Tucker Carlson took aim at the media for what they say is an intentional reframing of the story to focus on the reporting of the story rather than the allegations themselves.
• Rich Lowry writes in the New York Post lamenting the media’s lack of curiosity in getting a response from Joe Biden on the details of the story, calling journalists’ actions a “protection racket.”
• Marc Thiessen, a former GOP speechwriter and current resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, warned the Trump campaign that focusing on the Hunter Biden allegations during the final debate will backfire on the President.

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© Dallas Gerber, 2020