The Committees recently conducted a transcribed interview with Michael Morell, a former Deputy Director of the CIA and one of the 51 signatories of the public statement. In his transcribed interview, Morell testified that on or around October 17, 2020, Blinken served as a senior advisor to the Biden campaign and reached out to him to discuss the Hunter Biden laptop story. According to Morell, although your outreach was couched as simply gathering Morell’s reaction to the Post story, it set in motion the events that led to the issuance of the public statement…That same day, October 17, Blinken also emailed Morell an article published in USA Today alleging that the FBI was examining whether the Hunter Biden laptop was part of a “disinformation campaign.”

Q: But, prior to [Secretary Blinken’s] call, you – you did not have any intent to write this statement?A: I did not.Q: Okay. So his call triggered –A: It did, yes.Q: – that intent in you?A: Yes. Absolutely.

Morell further explained that one of his two goals in releasing the statement was to help then-Vice President Biden in the debate and to assist him in winning the election. He testified:Q: What was the intent of the statement?A: There were two intents. One intent was to share our concern with the American people that the Russians were playing on this issue; and, two, it was [to] help Vice President Biden.

“There are 50 former national intelligence folks who said that what he’s accusing me of is a Russian plant,” Biden said. “… Five former heads of the CIA, both parties, say what he’s saying is a bunch of garbage. Nobody believes it except his good friend Rudy Giuliani.”