Fact Check: Did Antony Blinken Lie to Congress About Hunter Biden Emails?
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) accused Secretary of State Antony Blinken of lying to congress regarding his previous contact with President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden. Is this true?
Claim: Speaking on Fox News, Johnson claimed that Blinken “lied boldface to Congress about never emailing Hunter Biden” during a voluntary interview with the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and Finance committees in December 2020. Johnson added, “My guess is he told a bunch of other lies that hopefully we'll be able to bring him and his wife back in, tell them to preserve their records.”
Fact Check: In the 2020 interview, Blinken told congress that he met with Hunter Biden once over lunch while serving as deputy secretary of state under President Barack Obama. Page 30 of the transcription of the interview states that Blinken answered “no” to the question— “Did you have any other means of correspondence with [Hunter Biden]–emails, texts?” Johnson’s claim comes from data recovered from Hunter Biden’s laptop, which included an email correspondence with Blinken. According to FactCheck.org, there were two emails— one sent by Hunter Biden requesting a meeting prior to the lunch, and one sent by Blinken following the lunch reading, “great to see you and catch up.”
Why Does It Matter? Johnson and other Republican lawmakers are probing Hunter Biden’s previous role on the board of a Ukrainian oil and gas company during Joe Biden’s time as vice president under Obama to investigate claims of corruption.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Right
Sen. Ron Johnson: Antony Blinken 'lied boldface to Congress' over contact with Hunter BidenGOP Senator Ron Johnson joined "Sunday Morning Futures" to discuss the investigation into the Biden family business dealings and Secretary of State Antony Blinken's alleged contact with Hunter, expressing his belief that Blinken ‘lied boldface’ to Congress - not just about his contact with Hunter Biden, but "so much more."
SEN. RON JOHNSON: … What is interesting, Maria [Bartiromo], and here's a little news for you. Antony Blinken finally did come in and sit down for a voluntary transcribed interview in December of 2020 because he wanted to be Secretary...
From the Left
Unpacking the Claim that Blinken ‘Lied’ to CongressOn Fox News, Republican Sen. Ron Johnson said he caught Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a lie to Congress about communicating with Hunter Biden via email. Johnson said Blinken ought to resign or be impeached.
It’s significant when a U.S. senator accuses a top Cabinet official of lying, but there is less to the accusation than Johnson suggests.
During a transcribed interview with the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and Finance committees in December 2020, Blinken was asked numerous questions about his relationship and interactions with President Joe...
From the Left
GOP lawmakers ask Blinken for information on 2020 public letter from ex-intel officials casting doubt on Hunter Biden laptop storyThe Republican chairs of the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday asking for information related to the crafting of a public letter signed weeks before the 2020 presidential election by dozens of former intelligence officials, who said they saw signs the Hunter Biden laptop story could be Russian disinformation.
In October 2020, 51 former intelligence officials signed on to a public letter that stated that the appearance of the Hunter Biden laptop story on the political scene had “all the...
AllSides Picks
March 28th, 2024
March 27th, 2024
March 23rd, 2024
March 22nd, 2024