Legal Commentary

How The Washington Post is keeping up with the news about Joe Biden.

Trump wants and plans to bring up Hunter Biden during the debate.... Biden?s advisers, for their part, see little to be gained by engaging publicly in the details of Hunter Biden?s alleged emails and texts beyond what they have already said, according to people with knowledge of their thinking. These people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to more candidly describe strategy, said there is no reason to give credibility to a report that is sourced in part to close allies of Trump and has prompted considerable public skepticism. The Washington Post has not independently verified the contents of the report. But ignoring the matter altogether is not an option either, they said, leaving some uncertainty about how Biden will address it Thursday night.... 

Biden did show a flash of anger when he was asked about the subject last week. ?I have no response. It?s another smear campaign, right up your alley,? he told a CBS News correspondent who asked about the New York Post?s reporting. The tensions surrounding the issue were evident Tuesday. Biden spokesman Andrew Bates sent a preemptive warning shot at Trump, who has appeared eager to bring up Biden?s son. ?He invests in these tainted smears,? Bates said, ?because he knows his presidency is a weak, pathetic failure.? Substance aside, Biden should show that he can stand up to Trump in the debate, said former Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell, a longtime Biden ally who has been raising money for his campaign. ?He should push back a little bit ? not a lot, a little bit ? so he doesn?t look weak,? Rendell said. ?They?ve been peddling this thing that he?s too weak to be president. .?.?. He?s got to smack back.?

Appearing Monday on Fox Business Channel, Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe said ?there is no intelligence that supports? the idea that the purported Hunter Biden laptop and the emails on it ?are part of a Russian disinformation campaign.? 

Tuesday?s carefully worded letter from [FBI Assistant Director Jill C. Tyson] to [Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee] states: ?Regarding the subject of your letter, we have nothing to add at this time to the October 19th public statement by the Director of National Intelligence about the available actionable intelligence. If actionable intelligence is developed, the FBI in consultation with the Intelligence Community will evaluate the need to provide defensive briefings to you and the Committee pursuant to the established notification framework.?  ...

The letter notes that, in keeping with long-standing Justice Department policy, ?the FBI can neither confirm nor deny the existence of any ongoing investigation of persons or entities under investigation, including to Members of Congress."

Full post as published by Althouse on October 21, 2020 (boomark / email).