Homeland Security Disbands Group Whose Members Denied Hunter Biden Laptop Story

The Biden administration will shut down a nationwide safety group positioned throughout the Department of Homeland Security, a few of whose members denied the Hunter Biden laptop computer story, in response to a lawsuit from a conservative group.

The Epoch Times reported Friday that in September 2023, DHS established the Homeland Intelligence Experts Group to supply steering on intelligence and nationwide safety coverage. In November, the Trump-aligned America First Legal (AFL) and former Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell filed a lawsuit in opposition to the DHS, the group, and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, arguing that the specialists’ group violated provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA).

Section 5 of FACA requires that any advisory committee be “fairly balanced in terms of the points of view” whereas mandating there be provisions to make sure that “the advice and recommendations of the advisory committee will not be inappropriately influenced by the appointing authority or by any special interest.”

But the lawsuit argued that “the Experts Group’s members are political allies of the Biden Administration. Most members have applauded the Administration’s decisions and fervidly condemned former President Trump’s America First approach to foreign policy.”

“They have overwhelmingly donated to President Biden or other Democrats. Defendant Mayorkas selected members that are agreeable, not balanced,” it acknowledged.

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Several members of the group had been additionally among the many signatories of a letter that dismissed the Hunter Biden laptop computer story as Russian disinformation, the outlet reported.

The Epoch Times added:

The panel comprised seventeen members when the DHS specialists group was first introduced. In its lawsuit, AFL acknowledged that these members “do not represent a fair balance of viewpoints.”

Two of the panel members had been John Brennan, a former director of the CIA, and James Clapper, former director of nationwide intelligence. Both of them had been signatories of the “Letter of 51,” utilizing their intelligence credentials to outrightly dismiss the Hunter Biden laptop computer story forward of the 2020 election.

Despite the FBI’s validation of the laptop computer’s authenticity, the letter claimed that the story had “all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.”

Tashina Gauhar, one other panel member who’s a former affiliate deputy legal professional common and deputy assistant legal professional common, is linked to the 2016 Trump–Russia collusion probe, the outlet reported.

She was “extensively involved in the FBI’s corrupt, partisan probe into the baseless allegations that former President Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia before the 2016 election, including drafting the FISA applications that were used to spy on the Trump campaign,” the lawsuit stated.

Both sides agreed to settle the matter final week, with DHS agreeing to close down the group inside 30 days. The group “will not hold any future meetings, and the Department will not reconstitute the Experts Group inconsistent with the FACA or the Homeland Security Act of 2002,” the joint discover of the settlement acknowledged.

In addition, DHS stated it could present AFL with the group’s assembly agendas and minutes, which must be submitted inside 15 days. “Based on these representations, Plaintiffs have agreed to dismiss their lawsuit with prejudice,” stated the joint assertion.

“Thanks to the courage of Ric Grenell in standing up to the Deep State, we have just achieved an unqualified legal victory over Mayorkas and Biden. As a result of our lawsuit in federal court, DHS is surrendering in total to our demands,” stated Stephen Miller, president of America First Legal.

The “partisan” specialists group “would have been used to promote censored, unethical spying, and gross civil rights invasions of political enemies,” he added.

Among the 17 panel members, 13 have a monitor file of political contributions, totaling 945 contributions to candidates for political workplace which might be reportable to the Federal Election Commission.

“Of those 945 contributions, 932 (98.62 percent) were made to Democrat candidates for office, while only 12 (1.27 percent) were made to Republican candidates for office,” the lawsuit acknowledged.

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