Biden campaign adviser Symone Sanders alleged Thursday that if President Donald Trump decides to mention the recent allegations against Hunter Biden during the final presidential debate, he will be engaging in “Russian misinformation.”
“And let’s just be clear,” Sanders said during a pre-debate interview on MSNBC. “If the president decides to amplify these latest smears about the vice president and his surviving son, that is Russian misinformation. That is what he is doing, and we should call it as such.”
Biden campaign adviser Symone Sanders:
"If the president decides to amplify these latest smears against the vice president and his only living son, that is Russian disinformation." pic.twitter.com/kPR01Q7bbd
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) October 23, 2020
Sanders’ accusation comes hours after the Biden campaign echoed her claim that the concerns surrounding the reports regarding Hunter Biden’s alleged laptop are a Russian ploy.
Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden’s campaign appeared on Thursday to respond to the latest explosive reports regarding a laptop allegedly belonging to Hunter Biden by claiming that if President Donald Trump attacks Biden’s family at the debate, then he is “amplifying Russian misinformation.”
The statement from Biden Deputy Campaign Manager Kate Bedingfield comes hours after new explosive reports outlined more messages that purportedly came from the laptop and after an alleged former business associate, a pro-Democrat Navy veteran, came forward and said that Hunter Biden asked his father to “sign-off” on deals.
“If we see tonight from Donald Trump these attacks on Vice President Biden’s family, I think we need to be very, very clear that what he’s doing here is amplifying Russian misinformation,” Bedingfield said, according to Wall Street Journal reporter Ken Thomas.
Despite the campaign’s claims, both the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reportedly confirmed that Hunter’s laptop is not Russian disinformation.
When Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo asked Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe on Monday if the laptop was Russian disinformation, he responded, “So, Maria it’s funny that some of the people that complained the most about intelligence being politicized are the ones politicizing intelligence and unfortunately in this case, it is Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, who as you pointed out on Friday said that the intelligence community believes that Hunter Biden’s laptop and e-mails on it are part of some Russian disinformation campaign.”
“Let me be clear, the intelligence community doesn’t believe that because there is no intelligence that supports that and we shared no intelligence with chairman Schiff or any other member of Congress that Hunter Biden’s laptop is part of some Russian disinformation campaign,” he continued. “It’s simply not true.”
A federal law enforcement official confirmed the veracity of Ratcliffe’s assertion. As The Daily Wire reported:
“A senior federal law enforcement official tells @JakeBGibson 1) FBI & DOJ concur w/ Ratcliffe that Hunter Biden’s laptop & the emails in question weren’t part of a Russian disinformation campaign,” Fox News producer Sean Langille tweeted. “2) The FBI DOES have possession of the Hunter Biden laptop in question.”
This article has been expanded after publication to include additional information.
Related: WATCH: Martha MacCallum Nails Biden Adviser Symone Sanders For Politicizing Coronavirus