Hunter Biden’s lawyer claims that purported screenshots of a text message allegedly sent by Hunter Biden to a potential Chinese business partner, which refers to Joe Biden, are not authentic and contain numerous inaccuracies.
Abbe Lowell, one of Hunter Biden’s lawyers, relayed this information in a letter addressed to Representative Jason Smith, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, who has interviewed IRS whistleblowers involved in the case. NBC News obtained a copy of the letter.
Lowell wrote that the screenshots of the message as tweeted by Smith, “both include a photo of Mr. Biden not from 2017 but from the White House Easter Egg Roll in April 2022 (long after he ‘sent the supposed message); both images depict the message in a blue bubble, when WhatsApp messages are in green; one image superimposed the Chinese flag for the contact ID, when this was surely not how a text or contact; and one purports to be a screenshot with the ‘. . .’ of someone typing a text (as in Apple’s iMessage) when that doesn’t happen in WhatsApp.”
“In short, the images you have circulated online are complete fakes,” he adds.
However, these social media images were for illustrative purposes only. JP Freire, the committee’s communications director, clarified in a June 23, 2023 email that the message attributed to Biden in Smith’s tweet is a “graphic representation” and not an actual WhatsApp copy or screenshot. According to the transcript (page 191) that includes Shapley’s testimony, it is explained that the original information was obtained through “an electronic search warrant for an iCloud backup.”
In the Ways and Means Committee case, the information was presented in the form of a “graphic representation” of a WhatsApp message that bore little resemblance to an actual WhatsApp message. Consequently, this representation led some people to question the authenticity of the message and dismiss it with allegations of “fake. Fake. Photoshopped. Unbelievable.”
MP Jason Smith had announced the content of the WhatsApp message on June 22.
Rep. Jason Smith: Whistleblowers say Biden’s DOJ directly interfered with Hunter Biden’s criminal investigation, even halting an investigation into “a WhatsApp message in which Hunter Biden demands payment from Chinese officials, noting that his father is in the room.” pic.twitter.com/ddMa4OJzLT
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 22, 2023
As mentioned in the press conference, IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley said in his testimony related to President Joe Biden that he saw a WhatsApp message sent by Hunter Biden to a Chinese businessman in 2017. It was a July 30, 2017 WhatsApp message from Hunter Biden to Henry Zhao, in which Hunter Biden wrote: “I’m sitting here with my father and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled. Tell the director that I’d like to settle this now before it gets out of hand and that now means tonight.”
During Shapley’s testimony before the committee, former lead investigator on the Hunter Biden case said under oath that as part of his investigation, he obtained WhatsApp messages sent by Hunter Biden, including one from 2017 in which Hunter Biden he allegedly demanded payment from a Chinese man. businessman named Henry Zhao.
Lowell’s letter also takes issue with “IRS whistleblowers” who he says are “claiming this title in an attempt to evade their own misconduct” and “fueling the campaign of misinformation to harm our client, Hunter Biden, as a vehicle.” to attack his father.”
Attorneys representing Shapley released a statement in response to the letter, noting that lawyers for the Biden family have allegedly used intimidation tactics in the past and allegedly threatened federal prosecutors with retaliation such as “professional suicide” if they came forward. charges against Hunter Biden.
“All the innuendo and bluster that the lawyers for the Biden family can summon will not change the facts,” the statement said. “Legal whistleblowing is the opposite of illegal leaks, and these false accusations against SSA Shapley by the Biden family’s attorneys echo the threatening emails sent by IRS management after the agent of the case also report favoritism to the IRS Commissioner in this case, as well as the chilling report that Biden’s lawyers have also directly pressured the Biden Department of Justice to target our client with a criminal investigation as additional retaliation for whistling.”
“These threats and intimidation have already been referred earlier this week to the inspectors general of the DOJ and the IRS, and to Congress for further investigation as possible obstruction of their lawful investigations, as well as retaliation against the our client,” the statement added.
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