Media: FBI gagged analyst who verified Hunter Biden laptop New Logs Reveal

Newly surfaced chat logs reveal that the FBI suppressed an analyst who confirmed the authenticity of Hunter Biden’s laptop during a call with Twitter before the 2020 election, raising fresh concerns about government influence over social media platforms.

The logs show that an FBI official instructed colleagues to “not discuss the Biden matter” and later placed a “gag order” on the analyst, who was also “admonished” for speaking out. Other messages reveal frustration within the bureau, with one staffer complaining that the analyst “won’t shut up” about the issue, Caliber.Az reports, citing National Review.

The representatives of the U.S. House Committee on Judiciary confirmed the information on X:

“Do not talk about the Biden matter”

🚨 NEW INTERNAL FBI CHAT LOGS SHOW THE FBI IMPOSED A “GAG ORDER” ABOUT THE NY POST STORY ON HUNTER BIDEN’S LAPTOP THE DAY IT CAME OUT

🧵 THREAD: pic.twitter.com/Rnc1hHBOir

— House Judiciary GOP 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@JudiciaryGOP) April 1, 2025

The FBI first verified the laptop’s authenticity in late 2019 by cross-referencing its serial number with Hunter Biden’s iCloud storage, according to testimony from FBI Special Agent Erica Jensen during Hunter Biden’s gun trial. IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley corroborated this verification process in his testimony before Congress, where he also alleged misconduct by officials handling the younger Biden’s tax investigation.

Independent journalists Catherine Herridge and Michael Shellenberger were the first to report on the internal FBI communications. Herridge, formerly of CBS News, has stated that she was prevented from reporting on the laptop story ahead of the 2020 election.

Both Twitter and Facebook censored the Hunter Biden laptop story following extensive engagement with the FBI and other government agencies. Social media platforms had reportedly spent nearly a year preparing to suppress what would later become one of the most politically charged news stories of the election cycle. Shortly after her confirmation, Attorney General Pam Bondi shut down the FBI’s foreign influence task force, which had played a central role in pressuring social media companies to restrict certain narratives.

The House Judiciary Committee and its Weaponization subcommittee, led by Chairman Jim Jordan (R., Ohio), have continued investigating the suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story, as well as broader allegations of political censorship online. In a separate revelation, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg admitted last year that Facebook was wrong to suppress the New York Post’s reporting on the laptop and criticized the Biden administration for later pressuring the platform to censor COVID-19-related viewpoints.

The release of the "Twitter Files" in late 2022, after Elon Musk acquired the platform, further exposed the extent to which Twitter executives worked with government agencies to censor the laptop story and restrict conservative voices.

Meanwhile, then-President Joe Biden pardoned Hunter Biden in December before his sentencing for federal gun and tax crimes. Hunter Biden was convicted in Delaware last June on gun charges and later pleaded guilty to tax charges in California.

House Republicans’ impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden has focused heavily on Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings, revealing over $27 million in payments from foreign sources to Hunter Biden and his associates. The inquiry has also documented instances where Joe Biden met with his son’s business partners and spoke to them on speakerphone roughly 20 times.

Additionally, the Trump administration recently promoted IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler to senior adviser positions after they faced alleged retaliation within the IRS for coming forward. President Trump has also granted clemency to Hunter Biden’s former business partners, Devon Archer and Jason Galanis, both of whom testified during the impeachment inquiry.

The FBI has declined to comment on the latest revelations.

By Khagan Isayev