House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) stated on Monday that FBI Special Agent Elvis Chan provided “false statements” while under oath concerning the Hunter Biden laptop case.
FBI Special Agent Elvis Chan, who has been identified as a key link between the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force (FITF) and major tech companies, was present at a pivotal meeting on October 14, 2020, with Facebook. This was the same day the New York Post broke its story on Hunter Biden’s laptop. The Section Chief of the FITF, Laura Dehmlow, responded with “no comment” when Facebook inquired about the authenticity of the laptop, even though, as Jordan’s evidence suggests, the FBI was aware of its authenticity.
Rep. Jordan reveals that in a July interview with Laura Dehmlow, it was discovered that the FBI deliberately withheld significant information from social media companies concerning the laptop on the day of the story’s release. Interestingly, the FBI apparently confirmed the laptop’s authenticity in a meeting with Twitter on the same day before retracting the statement, deciding to adopt a “no comment” stance thereafter.
In the wake of these interactions, both Twitter and Facebook made the decision to censor the New York Post story. Notably, 51 former intelligence officials later discredited the story by stating that it was likely Russian disinformation, which was later shown as intentionally done to benefit the Biden campaign.
Fast forward to November 2022, during a deposition, Agent Chan was grilled about the aforementioned October 14 meeting. He expressed confidence that he had not participated in any other discussions concerning the Hunter Biden story with Big Tech. However, this assertion was later debunked by an internal Facebook document, suggesting Chan had a “follow up” call with Facebook on October 15.
Furthermore, Chan’s testimony also faced contradictions regarding his knowledge of the FBI’s investigation into the laptop. A Facebook employee, previously with the FBI, noted that Chan was informed about the state of the investigation, contradicting Chan’s statements.
Rep. Jordan emphasizes that the FBI had verified the authenticity of Hunter Biden’s laptop in November 2019, as corroborated by an IRS whistleblower, Gary Shapley. Despite the evidence at hand, the Biden Department of Justice has been resistant to the Committee’s efforts to interview Agent Chan.
In a detailed thread, Jordan outlined the events, players, and the timeline that has led to this revelation.
In a deposition from November 2022, Agent Chan, of the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force, was questioned about the bureau’s handling of the laptop news just before the 2020 election. From the deposition transcript, Chan claimed he had “no internal knowledge” about the FBI looking into the laptop and only learned that the bureau had possession of it “when news media outlets posted it, or published it.”
“I asked SSA Chan whether there was any update or change since the discussion on 14 October 2020 as to whether the FBI saw any evidence suggesting foreign sponsorship or direction of the leak of information related to Hunter Biden as published in the New York Post story on 14 October,” wrote the Facebook employee, whose name was redacted from the excerpt.
“SSA Chan advised that he was up to speed on the current state of the matter within the FBI and that there was no current evidence to suggest any foreign connection or direction of the leak,” the employee added.
Furthermore, Agent Chan asserted he was “not a party to any meeting” where discussions regarding Mr. Biden’s laptop with social media companies took place, except for a preliminary task force briefing to Facebook on Oct. 14, 2020—the day the New York Post first reported the story. When inquired if he knew about any other interactions between Facebook and the FBI related to the laptop, he stated, “No.”
Yet, Rep. Jordan alleges that Facebook’s internal documents, which his committee acquired, indicate that Chan’s statements were “completely false.”
An excerpt from a redacted Facebook employee’s note mentions a discussion with SSA Chan about any updates since Oct. 14, 2020, and if the FBI had identified any evidence suggesting foreign influence in the leak related to Hunter Biden, as reported in the New York Post. The employee wrote that Chan was informed on the current status within the FBI and conveyed there was no evidence suggesting any foreign involvement in the leak.
Commenting on this, Rep. Jordan mentioned, “Of course, there was ‘no evidence’ of ‘any foreign connection.’ The laptop was real, and the FBI knew it. The FBI had the laptop since December 2019.
He further questioned the Biden administration’s hesitation in making Agent Chan available for the Committee’s interview, asking, “Is there any wonder why the Biden [Department of Justice] has so far stonewalled the Committee’s efforts to interview Agent Chan?”
In closing, Jordan promised to continue the investigation, hinting at potential legislative efforts to combat what he terms as the “censorship-industrial complex” and to uphold First Amendment rights.