Veteran investigative journalist Catherine Herridge is accusing CBS of doing everything it could to prevent her from reporting on the Hunter Biden laptop story leading up to the 2020 election.
Herridge explained how days after the Hunter Biden laptop story came to light, she was given the task of vetting the contents of the laptop and confirming that it belonged to Hunter Biden. She informed CBS news executive Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews of what she found after Ciprian-Matthews requested “confirmed reporting” on the laptop, Herridge wrote in her independent newsletter.
“Days earlier, I had been tasked with vetting the laptop and its contents after multiple platforms had suppressed the story. Due diligence included working the phones, reaching out to people on the Hunter Biden emails for corroboration and cross-referencing court records. The vetted documents I collected also indicated the laptop belonged to Hunter Biden,” Herridge wrote.
Herridge told Ciprian-Matthews that the vetted materials included a $1 million retainer from a Chinese energy firm, emails from Hunter Biden’s former business partner Tony Bobulinski, and Hunter Biden’s text messages.
“Asked by Ciprian-Matthews if there was a ‘Hunter connection,’ I responded, ‘Yes, all of them.'”
“I then provided some of the vetted records directly to Ciprian-Matthews. We did speak briefly on the phone. I don’t know at this point what happened next,” Herridge recalled.
CBS fired Herridge earlier this year and seized her reporting files on her way out the door. The network returned her files a few days later following union pressure and intense criticism.
Herridge continues to report independently on the Hunter Biden case and recently interviewed the two IRS whistleblowers who accused Justice Department officials of misconduct during the criminal investigation into Hunter Biden’s taxes.
National Review has reached out to CBS for comment.
The New York Post broke the story about the contents of Hunter Biden laptop’s in October 2020 and it was immediately censored by social-media platforms. The Post’s reporting featured evidence from the laptop showing the ways Hunter Biden cashed in on lucrative foreign business deals with Ukrainian and Chinese entities.
Shortly thereafter, a group of 51 former intelligence officials signed a letter falsely claiming the laptop story resembled a Russian disinformation operation, an assertion then-Democratic candidate Joe Biden cited to dismiss its significance. Michael Morell, the former CIA official who orchestrated the letter, testified last year that he did so in part to help Biden win the presidential election.
When CBS’s 60 Minutes interviewed former president Donald Trump at the time, anchor Leslie Stahl said the laptop “can’t be verified,” a statement that made Herridge uncomfortable.
“As I watched the broadcast, I felt sick,” Herridge said.
“I knew the laptop records could be vetted and confirmed. I was confused by what seemed a disconnect between the CBS News division and 60 Minutes.”
Herridge attributed the network’s editorial stance on the Biden laptop to CBS news executives not wanting to take on the story, despite corporate higher-ups supporting critical reporting on both sides.
“CBS News executives make the final call on editorial. In October 2020, I believe the preliminary reporting provided to senior CBS News executive Ciprian-Matthews showed the laptop was worth digging into, and more facts should be gathered. I saw it as an opportunity for CBS News to lead on a major story and to rebut disinformation claims,” Herridge asserted.
“They even provided additional resources, but based on my experience, it seemed their corporate objectives were frustrated by CBS News executives and other employees who were reluctant to take on a story about the President’s son.”
CBS eventually ran a story in November 2022 verifying the authenticity of the Biden laptop. Herridge suggested that she would provide more information about the delay at a later date.
For almost a year leading up to the laptop story, the FBI and other government agencies met with Twitter and Facebook to prepare them to suppress the story, according to a new report from the House Judiciary Committee.
The Judiciary Committee investigated the suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop separately from the House GOP’s high-profile impeachment inquiry into President Biden over his son’s foreign business dealings and alleged misconduct during the criminal probe into the younger Biden’s taxes. House Republicans uncovered $27 million of payments from foreign entities to Hunter Biden and his associates last decade.
The impeachment probe also brought to light Joe Biden’s contacts with his son’s business partners and largely confirmed IRS whistleblower allegations that Justice Department officials slow-walked and obstructed investigative steps throughout the criminal investigation into Hunter Biden.
The FBI verified the laptop in late 2019 by cross-referencing its serial number to Hunter Biden’s Apple iCloud storage account for other devices, special agent Erica Jensen testified during Biden’s criminal gun trial in June. Her testimony corroborated IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley’s congressional testimony last year detailing how federal investigators authenticated the laptop.
Hunter Biden was convicted in June on three federal gun charges in Delaware. Three months later, he plead guilty to nine federal tax charges in California a to avoid trial. His sentencing for both cases is scheduled to take place next month.