1. I'm going to go through a few issues with the NY Post article on Biden, which I won't link to, but you will probably see on Twitter today.
Follow along if interested.
2. First the information comes from a laptop that was allegedly "dropped off at a repair shop in Biden’s home state of Delaware" and never picked up.
The "shop owner," who is not identified, "couldn’t positively identify the customer as Hunter Biden"
3. The "shop owner" thinks it was Hunter Biden because of a Beau Biden sticker on the laptop.
This makes no sense. You drop off an expensive Mac laptop at a repair shop and don't leave your name or contact information?
4. But then, after claiming the shop owner couldn't identify the customer, the piece includes a receipt that was issued to "Hunter Biden" and includes an email and phone #
So why would the shop owner produce a receipt for Hunter Biden if he didn't know the ID of the customer?
5. The piece claims the shop owner then alerted the FBI to the existence of the laptop and it was later subpoenaed by a grand jury.
But the grand jury subpoena shown does not connect the laptop to Hunter Biden.
6. Then things get very weird. The shop owner says, before turning over the computer to the feds, they made a copy of the contents of the computer and gave them to Rudy Giuliani's lawyer
Mmmmhmmmm
7. The New York Post allegedly learned about this copy of the laptop through Steven Bannon.
Both Giuliani and Bannon are regular sources of disinformation
8. But this is the important point. Pretending, for a moment, that everything in the story is true (very doubtful) it is totally inconsequential.
Supposedly one "email" recovered on the laptop "proves" that Hunter once introduced a Bursima exec to his father.
9. This is a scandal? There is no word on the length of the meeting or what was discussed.
The New York Post says its significant because Biden then called for the ouster of the Ukrainian prosecutor investigating Bursima.
FALSE
The prosecutor was not investigating Bursima
10. The prosecutor was corrupt, which is why the entire international community was calling for his ouster.
Replacing the corrupt prosecutor brought more scrutiny on Bursima, not less
11. Allegedly, the laptop Hunter "forgot" to pick up also contains a 12 minute video of him smoking crack and having sex with an unidentified woman.
12. Nevertheless, this incredibly sketchy, totally unverified, and ultimately irrelevant story is being promoted by mainstream journalists who don't work for the New York Post.
Don't be fooled by that.
13. I should clarify that, assuming the email is legit, it doesn't establish that a meeting took place. Just that Hunter offered an "opportunity" to meet his father.
14. As of 9:50AM, the New York Post piece has been shared more than 26,000 times on Facebook
15. If you liked this thread, you'll really like my newsletter
"[W]e have reviewed Joe Biden’s official schedules from the time and no meeting, as alleged by the New York Post, ever took place"
17. 1:30PM UPDATE: This article and three other related NY Post pieces have now been shared 75K times on Facebook (via @crowdtangle)
@crowdtangle 18. UPDATE: The Daily Beast interviewed the owner of the computer repair shop who gave the info to Rudy Giuliani and the entire story is collapsing on itself
He chose, despite his conflicts, to intervene in the paper's editorial decisions & spike an endorsement of Harris
Bezos claims people who care about journalism have no choice but to accept his decisions — and trust his benevolent leadership
2. The only alternative giving him a pass, according to Bezos, is to rely on "off-the-cuff podcasts, inaccurate social media posts and other unverified news sources."
But it is possible to do meaningful journalism without being under the thumb of a conflicted billionaire
Independent outlets like @ProPublica, @404mediaco, @MarshallProj, the @TexasTribune, @MotherJones, the @TheProspect, @BulwarkOnline and, yes, Popular Information do it every day
1. @ElonMusk is spending 9-figures to elect Trump, appears alongside Trump at rallies, and his Super PAC is coordinating w/the Trump campaign
Musk just produced the most misogynistic ad in the history of politics
Coverage of the ad has ranged from muted to non-existent
2. "America really can't afford a 'C-Word' in the White House right now," America PAC posted, adding a laughing emoji. "Kamala Harris is a ‘C word,’" the narrator of the ad says. "You heard that right. A big ole ‘C word.’"
3. The "joke" of the ad is that Harris is a "communist." Of course, Harris is not a communist. And the ad makes no effort to show she is a communist. The line is only included as a pretext to repeatedly use a crass, misogynistic slur against Harris.
1. Three GOP state senators in North Carolina have demanded an investigation of state Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs
They claim that Riggs has "blatantly violated" the Code of Judicial Conduct
Riggs' transgression? She mentioned reproductive rights in a campaign ad.
2. In a TV ad, Riggs says that "women should be in charge of our own reproductive health care"
She notes that the GOP nominee for Governor, Mark Robinson, supported a total abortion ban and her opponent "could decide if [Robinson's] ban becomes law"
3. In a letter to colleagues announcing their request for an investigation, the Republican Senators claim that the North Carolina Code of Judicial Conduct "prohibits any judicial candidate, regardless of the office they seek, from taking a position on any issue that may appear before the court."
This is false.
The North Carolina Code of Judicial Conduct states that judges "should abstain from public comment about the merits of a pending proceeding in any state or federal court dealing with a case or controversy arising in North Carolina." Riggs’ ad does not comment on any pending court proceeding.
1. This is an OUTRAGEOUSLY MISLEADING headline by @NBCNews
The 600 people w/"possible ties" to the Venezuelan gang includes PEOPLE WHO WERE VICTIMS OF THE GANG OR WITNESSED CRIMES BY THE GANG
Unfortunately, it's part of a pattern of NBC pushing misleading Trump talking points
2. Being a victim of a gang crime does not mean you are "tied" to a Venezuelan gang.
Only 100 Venezuelan migrants in the US are believed to be members of the Tren de Aragua (TDA) gang and many of them are in ICE custody or in the custody of other law enforcement!
3. Keep in mind that Trump claims the TDA gang has TAKEN OVER THE CITY OF AURORA, COLORADO, which has over 400,000 people. That's quite an accomplishment for 100 people, many of whom are actually in jail already.
1. There is a brazen and ongoing attack on free speech in Florida, where the DeSantis admin is attempting to coerce TV stations to stop running ads in support of abortion rights
Funny that none of the people on X who claim to care about free speech are talking about it.
🧵
2. Earlier this month, the general counsel for the Florida Department of Health sent a letter to TV execs threatening jail time if they continued to run an ad supporting abortion rights.
3. Now the man who signed the letter has RESIGNED. In an affidavit, he says the letter was drafted by top DeSantis deputies who ordered him to sign it. He decided to quit his job rather than continue to be involved.