Former CIA director John Brennan has admitted the infamous letter signed by 51 former intelligence officials falsely saying Hunter Biden's laptop was Russian disinformation 'was political'.
Brennan, the CIA chief during Obama's administration made the admission during his four-hour testimony to House Judiciary Committee investigators behind closed doors last week', Fox News reports.
Brennan's deposition comes as former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper is expected to give testimony on May 17.
Both Brennan and Clapper signed a letter by 51 former intelligence officials who claimed Hunter's laptop had 'all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation'.
An email shows Brennan agreeing to have his name added to the letter of signatories by the then acting CIA Director Mike Morell.
John Brennan's deposition comes as former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper (pictured together in 2014) is expected to give testimony on May 17
One email seen by New York Post shows Morell asking Brennan to add his name to the signatories on the letter. Brennan emails back with his intention to sign the letter
Hunter's laptop included explicit photos of the troubled Hunter Biden naked, with prostitutes, and taking drugs, as well as multiple emails and texts between the 53-year-old and his father.
It comes as a bombshell Republican report has claimed that the CIA was actively involved in getting the 51 signatures on the letter, which the House Judiciary Committee allege was part of a 'political operation to help elect' Joe Biden in November 2022.
It alleges that a CIA employee 'may have helped in the effort to solicit signatures for the statement' and accuses former Deputy CIA director and Acting CIA Director Mike Morell and the Biden campaign of conspiring to quickly get the letter approved.
One signer of the statement, former CIA analyst David Cariens, 'disclosed to the Committees that a CIA employee affiliated with the agency's Prepublication Classification Review Board (PCRB) informed him of the existence of the statement and asked if he would sign it,' the House investigative report notes.
The CIA employee allegedly 'asked' Cariens if he would sign the statement, to which he agreed.
'The Committees have requested additional material from the CIA, which has ignored the request to date,' the report continues.
It came after Morell admitted to the House Judiciary Committee last month that he was asked by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken - who at the time was a senior member of Biden's campaign - to coordinate the letter.
Morrell said he was asked by Blinken to rally former intelligence chiefs to agree that the laptop looked like a smear campaign.
On October 19, 2020, Morell allegedly sent the CIA the final version of the letter to the Prepublication Classification Review for review and called it a 'rush job' so it could be approved.
One email seen by New York Post shows Morell asking Brennan to add his name to the signatories on the letter. Brennan emails back with his intention to sign the letter.
On October 18, emails included in the report also showed Clapper emailing Morrell his intention to sign onto the letter.
Both Brennan and Clapper signed a letter by 51 former intelligence officials who claimed Hunter's laptop had 'all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation'. Pictured: Hunter Biden and Joe Biden in Washington DC in 2016
Photo of laptop computer reportedly owned by Hunter Biden
He also offered a key phrase to include, writing: 'I have one editorial suggestion for the letter: I think it would strengthen the verbiage if you say this has all the classic earmarks of a Soviet/Russian information operation rather than the 'feel' of a Russian operation.
Morrell replied that Clapper's suggestion was accepted and 'It was a good one.'
The letter was ultimately signed by 51 former intelligence officials, including himself and four other former CIA directors, including John Brennan and Leon Panetta.
The letter was published by Politico five days after The New York Post first reported on the contents of the laptop.
The headline for Politico's story, on October 19, 2020, was: 'Hunter Biden story is Russian disinfo, dozens of former officials say.'
The letter alleged that The New York Post story 'has all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.'
Several media outlets, including DailyMail.com, have since confirmed the contents of the laptop and that it belonged to Hunter Biden.
Joe Biden used the letter during the October 22 debate against Donald Trump, saying he thought the reporting around his son's abandoned computer was the work of Russia.
Morell was thanked for his work in coordinating the letter, with Steve Ricchetti, chairman of the Biden campaign, telephoning him after the debate to say thank you.
He was then said to be in consideration for the role of CIA director - a job that ultimately went to William Burns.
Hunter Biden's abandoned laptop made for bombshell reports just before the 2020 presidential election
Hunter's laptop is brimming with files that give a shocking glimpse into his debauched life during which he engaged in drug use and prostitution
Morell, who has been a consultant, strategist, lecturer and author since his resignation almost a decade ago, said he was never formally in talks for the role.
Morrell recently testified before the House Judiciary Committee that an Oct. 17 call with Biden's current Secretary of State Antony Blinken had 'absolutely' triggered his interest in coordinating the letter.
'One of the great benefits of this job is that I don't do politics, don't engage in it,' the secretary of State said. 'But with regard to that letter -it wasn't my idea, I didn't ask for it, didn't solicit it,' Blinken said on Fox News.
At the time he was allegedly behind the letter Blinken was not secretary of state but a Biden campaign adviser.
Asked by Fox News on if he accepted the laptop's legitimacy after most major news organizations have verified it, Blinken said he would not talk politics.
'I'm not not engaging in politics. I've got a lot on my agenda. Some things that we just talked about, trying to help the Russian aggression against engaging with our allies, partners around the world and dealing with some of the challenges posed by China. We have a situation now in Sudan, this has fully occupied my time.'
Biden and his campaign at the time cited the letter to discredit Hunter Biden's laptop as a 'Russian disinformation campaign.'
The then-presidential candidate cited it during a debate with Trump just a few days after its publication on October 22, 2020 to deflect scrutiny of his son's alleged foreign influence peddling schemes.
Mike Morell was acting CIA director for several months in 2011 and again in 2012-13. He was asked by the Biden campaign in October 2020 to help recruit other former intelligence chiefs to discredit reporting on the contents of Hunter Biden's laptop
Then-Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe said at the time that Hunter's laptop was actually 'not part of a Russian disinformation campaign' and had made that clear to the FBI and the larger intelligence community.
The Republican report also detailed how the CIA coordinated with the Biden campaign to shop the letter around and gain press coverage.
Former CIA senior adviser Nick Shapiro drafted a media pitch that he sent to a number of outlets including Politico - which ended up writing the initial story - the Washington Post and the Associated Press.
Current White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates, who was serving as Biden campaign rapid response director at the time, was included on emails from Shapiro regarding the push to disseminate the letter to the media.
House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan and House Intelligence Committee Chair Mike Turner sent a letter to Blinken last week telling him that they were examining the letter.
'As part of our oversight, we have learned that you played a role in the inception of this statement while serving as a Biden campaign advisor, and we therefore request your assistance with our oversight.'
The Biden campaign 'took active measures to discredit the allegations about Hunter Biden by exploiting the national security credentials of former intelligence officials,' the report also states.