Thread by @jseldin

ICYMI: Top US intel official on the #HunterBiden laptops/emails

"W/regard to Hunter Biden's laptop being part of a Russian disinformation campaign & the intelligence community believing that or assessing that, is simply not true” @DNI_Ratcliffe told @FoxBusiness @MorningsMaria

Asked about @DNI_Ratcliffe's comments on the Hunter Biden laptops, @FBI replied:

"We have no comment, in keeping with our standard practice of neither confirming nor denying the existence of an investigation"

During @FoxBusiness segment, @DNI_Ratcliffe also spoke abt House Intel Comm Chair @RepAdamSchiff & his comments abt the laptops: "The only intelligence that Adam Schiff gets is the intelligence that we the intelligence community give him...we have given him no such intelligence"

.@RepAdamSchiff's spokesman is now responding

"Dir Ratcliffe is purposefully misrepresenting Chairman Schiff’s words in an effort to mislead the public & validate the latest attacks by President Trump & his allies on Vice President Biden" per Patrick Boland

"The Intelligence Community has stated publicly that Russia is once again seeking to benefit Donald Trump’s election campaign by denigrating Joe Biden" per Boland

"The new wave of attacks we are seeing on Vice President Biden are consistent with the false and unsubstantiated narratives that the President, his personal lawyer, & a sanctioned Russian agent have been pushing for well over a year" per Schiff spox Patrick Boland

.@ODNIgov referring back to @DNI_Ratcliffe's interview with @MorningsMaria on @FoxBusiness on questions about Ratcliffe's statement that, "Hunter Biden's laptop is not part of some #Russia|n disinformation campaign"

.@DNI_Ratcliffe said: "Adam Schiff the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee...said that the intelligence community believes that Hunter Biden's laptop & the e-mails on it are part of some Russian disinformation campaign..."

"Let me be clear, the intelligence community doesn't believe that because there is no intelligence that supports that" @DNI_Ratcliffe told @FoxBusiness

"Hunter Biden's laptop is not part of some #Russia|n disinformation campaign"

" The FBI has had possession of this" per @DNI_Ratcliffe "Their investigation does not center around Russian disinformation & the intelligence community is playing no role with respect to that"

"Adam Schiff saying that this is part of some Russian disinformation campaign & that the IC has assessed that or believes that is simply not true" per @DNI_Ratcliffe

In response, @RepAdamSchiff's office accused @DNI_Ratcliffe of "purposefully misrepresenting Chairman Schiff’s words"

Schiff's office also provided the following excerpt of the Congressman's comments to @CNN (highlighting is theirs)

On declassified docs related to @HillaryClinton, @DNI_Ratcliffe told @MorningsMaria:

"To remind people what I declassified, it was authentic #Russia|n intelligence..."

"...It was Russian intelligence that was briefed by the former @CIA director John Brennan to President Obama & Vice President Biden" per @DNI_Ratcliffe "And then it was properly referred by the CIA to the @FBI for investigation"

More from @DNI_Ratcliffe: "I think everyone knows at this point that Hillary Clinton did create the Trump #Russia collusion narrative. She hired Christopher Steele for that purpose And it was used in connection with the Steele dossier..."

"President Trump has put people in important positions to bring truth to the American people about these issues" per @DNI_Ratcliffe on @FoxBusiness earlier

"I'm going to continue to do that as long as I'm privileged to hold this position"