A former Obama senior intelligence official has raised concerns that a 2020 letter signed by 51 former intel officials dismissing the Hunter Biden laptop story showed characteristics “consistent with coordinated intelligence deception operations,” according to a memo submitted to the Intelligence Community Inspector General.
The official, Thomas Kuhns, a former Senior Intelligence Officer and advisor to the Deputy Director of National Intelligence, said his assessment was based on intelligence tradecraft standards and not political motivation. He argued the drafting, coordination, and release of the letter showed selective information use, omission of key facts, and reliance on former intelligence credentials.
Kuhns told the ICIG that signatories of the October 2020 letter — including James Clapper, John Brennan, and Leon Panetta — did not seek FBI verification despite the laptop being in FBI custody since 2019.
He also found no evidence the signatories sought classified or unclassified confirmation before issuing the statement. According to the memo, the Intelligence Community Inspector General has referred the complaint to the Justice Department Inspector General.
Former Acting CIA Director Michael Morell, the letter’s primary author, has testified the effort aimed both to warn about potential Russian influence and to help Joe Biden politically, while acknowledging there was no direct evidence of Russian involvement in the laptop materials.
