April 1, 2025, and Catherine Herridge yeah, that bulldog reporter drops a bombshell with Michael Shellenberger. They’ve got their hands on internal FBI chat logs, and holy hell, they’re spicy. According to their report on Shorenewsnetwork.com today, the FBI told its agents to zip it about Hunter Biden’s laptop just hours after one of their own accidentally spilled to Twitter that it was the real deal. This all ties back to October 14, 2020, the day the New York Post unleashed its story about Hunter’s laptop, packed with emails and dirt that made the Biden campaign sweat.
The logs show senior FBI brass like Elvis Chan, the San Francisco agent who hobnobs with social media companies freaking out. One message has someone telling Chan there’s a “gag order” on laptop talk, and in another, he’s told the official line is “no comment.” Then it gets wild an analyst from the Criminal Investigative Division starts to say, “Yes, the laptop is real,” during a Twitter call, but an FBI lawyer jumps in like, “Nope, shut it down!” Hours later, the order’s out: no one talks. X is buzzing today posts are screaming about election meddling, with folks like @mxmnews and @Barbara14130169 pointing fingers at the FBI for burying this.
Rewind: The Laptop Saga Begins
Let’s back up to how this mess started. April 2019, Hunter Biden Joe’s son, the guy who’s never far from a headline drops off a water-damaged MacBook Pro at John Paul Mac Isaac’s repair shop in Wilmington, Delaware. Mac Isaac, legally blind and a bit of a loose cannon, says it’s Hunter, though he can’t swear to it. Guy never picks it up, and by December 2019, the FBI swoops in with a grand jury subpoena case ID 272D-BA-3065729, tied to a Baltimore money laundering probe. They’ve got the laptop, and by November 2019, they’ve confirmed it’s legit no tampering, no Russian fingerprints, just Hunter’s messy digital life.
Fast forward to October 14, 2020. The New York Post gets a copy of the hard drive from Rudy Giuliani Trump’s lawyer, who got it from Mac Isaac and publishes a bombshell: emails suggesting Hunter set up a meeting between Joe Biden and a Burisma exec back in 2015. Joe’s the VP then, Ukraine’s his beat, and this looks bad. The Biden camp says no meeting happened, but the damage is brewing three weeks ‘til Election Day, and Trump’s team smells blood.
The FBI’s Pre-Game: Setting the Stage
Here’s where it gets murky. The FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force (FITF) had been cozying up to Big Tech all year over 30 meetings with Twitter, Facebook, you name it, warning about Russian “hack-and-leak” ops ahead of the 2020 vote. Laura Dehmlow, FITF’s section chief, testified in 2023 to the House Judiciary Committee that they’d been priming these companies for months. Mark Zuckerberg later told Joe Rogan in 2022 that the FBI tipped Facebook off about a potential “dump” that fit the Russian playbook vague, sure, but enough to spook them.
Then the Post story hits, and social media freaks. Twitter locks the article can’t share it, can’t retweet it. Facebook throttles it hard, slashing its reach while “fact-checkers” poke around. Why? That FBI warning had them paranoid Zuck said it “fit the pattern” they’d been fed. But here’s the kicker: the FBI knew the laptop was real since 2019. They’d authenticated it, had it in their vault, and still let the “Russian disinfo” narrative fester. X posts from back then like @mtaibbi’s in 2024 point to Elvis Chan’s deposition, showing the FBI fed vague threats without ever saying, “Hey, this one’s legit.”
The Gag Order: Shutting It Down
Now, October 14, 2020 the Post story’s live, and Twitter’s on a call with the FITF. An analyst slips “Yes, the laptop’s real” and bam, an FBI lawyer cuts in, “No further comment.” That’s when the chat logs from today’s report kick in. Chan’s asking, “What kind of case is this? Corruption? Campaign financing?” Another agent hits back with “CLOSE HOLD” redacted after that and Chan’s like, “Oh crap, it ends here.” Later, someone asks, “Anyone talking that NY Post article?” Chan says, “Yes we are,” but the gag order’s already out: don’t discuss it, period.
Herridge’s report says this came from the top senior officials, not some rogue desk jockey. Dehmlow’s in the mix too, dodging Facebook’s question the same day with another “no comment.” The FBI had the laptop, knew it wasn’t Russian, but clammed up letting Twitter and Facebook censor it to death. X posts today like @joemill37087868
tagging Herridge are calling it a cover-up, and I’m leaning that way too. They didn’t just sit on it they actively muzzled their own who might’ve spilled the truth.
The Fallout: Election Interference?
This gag order’s got teeth millions didn’t see the story pre-election. Twitter blocked it outright; Facebook buried it. A 2021 Media Research Center poll claimed 4.6% of Biden voters over 3 million might’ve flipped if they’d known. That’s tight Biden won by 44,000 votes across key states. Was it the deciding factor? Can’t say for sure, but it stinks of meddling. The FBI’s silence let 51 ex-intel officials like Mike Morell, nudged by Biden’s Antony Blinken run wild with that “Russian op” letter on October 19, 2020. Joe waved it at the debate: “50 intel folks say it’s a Russian plant!” X posts from@TPostMillennial in 2023 quote lawyer D. John Sauer saying high-level FBI brass pushed this suppression logs back that up.
Meanwhile, the FBI’s chat logs show they knew it was a “domestic hit job” Dehmlow’s “Yup” to that line says it all. They had the goods emails, maybe tax crimes, per Chan’s “felony” hint but gagged it anyway. Why? Election timing’s my guess too hot to touch with November 3 looming. IRS agent Joseph Ziegler told Congress in 2023 they were barred from “overt steps” because it was Hunter, the president’s son. That’s a hell of a coincidence.
The Bigger Picture: Trust on the Line
Zoom out, and this isn’t just about Hunter it’s the FBI’s cred taking a hit. They’ve got form think 2016, Comey’s Clinton email letters that torched trust. Now, they’re caught sitting on a live wire and gagging their own to keep it quiet. X sentiment today like @settlement_the asking “Will there be consequences?” shows people are pissed. The 2020 election’s long done, but this fuels the “deep state” fire especially with Trump back in office as of January 20, issuing orders like revoking those 51 intel officials’ clearances over that letter.
For SpaceX’s Fram2 crew up there now irrelevant here, sure they’re blissfully orbiting while this mess unfolds. Down here, it’s uglier. The FBI’s supposed to chase facts, not play politics, but these logs scream otherwise. They didn’t just withhold they steered the narrative, letting Big Tech choke a story they knew was real. That’s not a glitch; that’s a choice.
My Gut: A Messy Cover-Up
Here’s where I land: this gag order’s a smoking gun. The FBI had the laptop since 2019, confirmed it, then watched it explode in 2020 and said, “Nope, lips sealed.” They didn’t have to lie just stay quiet and let the “Russian disinfo” myth run wild. Chan’s “oh crap” and Dehmlow’s dodge tell me they knew it was big maybe corruption, maybe worse and chose to bury it. Election interference? Maybe not direct, but it sure as hell shaped what people saw, or didn’t see, before voting.I’m not buying the “administrative error” line from other Trump-era flops like that Maryland deportation. This was deliberate senior officials, not some intern, shut it down. Consequences? Doubt it FBI’s too entrenched, and 2020’s old news. But it’s a gut punch to anyone who thought they’d play it straight. What do you think innocent fumble or a calculated hush? I’m leaning hard into the latter.
The logs show senior FBI brass like Elvis Chan, the San Francisco agent who hobnobs with social media companies freaking out. One message has someone telling Chan there’s a “gag order” on laptop talk, and in another, he’s told the official line is “no comment.” Then it gets wild an analyst from the Criminal Investigative Division starts to say, “Yes, the laptop is real,” during a Twitter call, but an FBI lawyer jumps in like, “Nope, shut it down!” Hours later, the order’s out: no one talks. X is buzzing today posts are screaming about election meddling, with folks like @mxmnews and @Barbara14130169 pointing fingers at the FBI for burying this.
Rewind: The Laptop Saga Begins
Let’s back up to how this mess started. April 2019, Hunter Biden Joe’s son, the guy who’s never far from a headline drops off a water-damaged MacBook Pro at John Paul Mac Isaac’s repair shop in Wilmington, Delaware. Mac Isaac, legally blind and a bit of a loose cannon, says it’s Hunter, though he can’t swear to it. Guy never picks it up, and by December 2019, the FBI swoops in with a grand jury subpoena case ID 272D-BA-3065729, tied to a Baltimore money laundering probe. They’ve got the laptop, and by November 2019, they’ve confirmed it’s legit no tampering, no Russian fingerprints, just Hunter’s messy digital life.
Fast forward to October 14, 2020. The New York Post gets a copy of the hard drive from Rudy Giuliani Trump’s lawyer, who got it from Mac Isaac and publishes a bombshell: emails suggesting Hunter set up a meeting between Joe Biden and a Burisma exec back in 2015. Joe’s the VP then, Ukraine’s his beat, and this looks bad. The Biden camp says no meeting happened, but the damage is brewing three weeks ‘til Election Day, and Trump’s team smells blood.
The FBI’s Pre-Game: Setting the Stage
Here’s where it gets murky. The FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force (FITF) had been cozying up to Big Tech all year over 30 meetings with Twitter, Facebook, you name it, warning about Russian “hack-and-leak” ops ahead of the 2020 vote. Laura Dehmlow, FITF’s section chief, testified in 2023 to the House Judiciary Committee that they’d been priming these companies for months. Mark Zuckerberg later told Joe Rogan in 2022 that the FBI tipped Facebook off about a potential “dump” that fit the Russian playbook vague, sure, but enough to spook them.
Then the Post story hits, and social media freaks. Twitter locks the article can’t share it, can’t retweet it. Facebook throttles it hard, slashing its reach while “fact-checkers” poke around. Why? That FBI warning had them paranoid Zuck said it “fit the pattern” they’d been fed. But here’s the kicker: the FBI knew the laptop was real since 2019. They’d authenticated it, had it in their vault, and still let the “Russian disinfo” narrative fester. X posts from back then like @mtaibbi’s in 2024 point to Elvis Chan’s deposition, showing the FBI fed vague threats without ever saying, “Hey, this one’s legit.”
The Gag Order: Shutting It Down
Now, October 14, 2020 the Post story’s live, and Twitter’s on a call with the FITF. An analyst slips “Yes, the laptop’s real” and bam, an FBI lawyer cuts in, “No further comment.” That’s when the chat logs from today’s report kick in. Chan’s asking, “What kind of case is this? Corruption? Campaign financing?” Another agent hits back with “CLOSE HOLD” redacted after that and Chan’s like, “Oh crap, it ends here.” Later, someone asks, “Anyone talking that NY Post article?” Chan says, “Yes we are,” but the gag order’s already out: don’t discuss it, period.
Herridge’s report says this came from the top senior officials, not some rogue desk jockey. Dehmlow’s in the mix too, dodging Facebook’s question the same day with another “no comment.” The FBI had the laptop, knew it wasn’t Russian, but clammed up letting Twitter and Facebook censor it to death. X posts today like @joemill37087868
tagging Herridge are calling it a cover-up, and I’m leaning that way too. They didn’t just sit on it they actively muzzled their own who might’ve spilled the truth.
The Fallout: Election Interference?
This gag order’s got teeth millions didn’t see the story pre-election. Twitter blocked it outright; Facebook buried it. A 2021 Media Research Center poll claimed 4.6% of Biden voters over 3 million might’ve flipped if they’d known. That’s tight Biden won by 44,000 votes across key states. Was it the deciding factor? Can’t say for sure, but it stinks of meddling. The FBI’s silence let 51 ex-intel officials like Mike Morell, nudged by Biden’s Antony Blinken run wild with that “Russian op” letter on October 19, 2020. Joe waved it at the debate: “50 intel folks say it’s a Russian plant!” X posts from@TPostMillennial in 2023 quote lawyer D. John Sauer saying high-level FBI brass pushed this suppression logs back that up.
Meanwhile, the FBI’s chat logs show they knew it was a “domestic hit job” Dehmlow’s “Yup” to that line says it all. They had the goods emails, maybe tax crimes, per Chan’s “felony” hint but gagged it anyway. Why? Election timing’s my guess too hot to touch with November 3 looming. IRS agent Joseph Ziegler told Congress in 2023 they were barred from “overt steps” because it was Hunter, the president’s son. That’s a hell of a coincidence.
The Bigger Picture: Trust on the Line
Zoom out, and this isn’t just about Hunter it’s the FBI’s cred taking a hit. They’ve got form think 2016, Comey’s Clinton email letters that torched trust. Now, they’re caught sitting on a live wire and gagging their own to keep it quiet. X sentiment today like @settlement_the asking “Will there be consequences?” shows people are pissed. The 2020 election’s long done, but this fuels the “deep state” fire especially with Trump back in office as of January 20, issuing orders like revoking those 51 intel officials’ clearances over that letter.
For SpaceX’s Fram2 crew up there now irrelevant here, sure they’re blissfully orbiting while this mess unfolds. Down here, it’s uglier. The FBI’s supposed to chase facts, not play politics, but these logs scream otherwise. They didn’t just withhold they steered the narrative, letting Big Tech choke a story they knew was real. That’s not a glitch; that’s a choice.
My Gut: A Messy Cover-Up
Here’s where I land: this gag order’s a smoking gun. The FBI had the laptop since 2019, confirmed it, then watched it explode in 2020 and said, “Nope, lips sealed.” They didn’t have to lie just stay quiet and let the “Russian disinfo” myth run wild. Chan’s “oh crap” and Dehmlow’s dodge tell me they knew it was big maybe corruption, maybe worse and chose to bury it. Election interference? Maybe not direct, but it sure as hell shaped what people saw, or didn’t see, before voting.I’m not buying the “administrative error” line from other Trump-era flops like that Maryland deportation. This was deliberate senior officials, not some intern, shut it down. Consequences? Doubt it FBI’s too entrenched, and 2020’s old news. But it’s a gut punch to anyone who thought they’d play it straight. What do you think innocent fumble or a calculated hush? I’m leaning hard into the latter.
