Hunter Biden stated in a recent interview that the data associated with his laptop was not lost at a Delaware computer shop in 2019 but was instead stolen from his online cloud storage. This assertion comes despite the FBI presenting a MacBook Pro as evidence in a court proceeding.
Biden, 56, told former Fox News host Tucker Carlson that an unknown entity or individual accessed his cloud accounts and stole the files. He suggested that Russian or Israeli intelligence agencies, or even an individual, could be responsible for compiling stolen digital assets and presenting them as originating from a single laptop. He argued that the volume of information attributed to the laptop was too large to have come from one device.
The laptop in question was presented as evidence during Biden's 2024 illegal gun possession trial. FBI Special Agent Erika Jensen testified that the serial number on the MacBook Pro matched that of the then-first son's device. The computer repairman, John Paul Mac Isaac, provided the laptop to the FBI after copying its contents. This led to reporting on alleged connections between Joe Biden, then vice president, and Ukrainian gas company Burisma, which was paying Hunter Biden $1 million annually. Other files purportedly showed Joe Biden being earmarked for a percentage of a Chinese business venture and Hunter Biden facilitating meetings with his father and international business associates.
Claims that the files were hacked or altered led to content moderation on platforms like Twitter and Facebook prior to the 2020 election. Joe Biden had described the information as a "Russian plant," though other news organizations later confirmed its authenticity.
During the interview, Hunter Biden stated he did not have definitive digital forensic evidence to pinpoint a specific hacker or organization responsible, mentioning agencies like Mossad or the GRU, or even a "kid in his basement." He maintained that he "did not trade on access," despite past reports of meetings involving his father and international business figures.
Hunter Biden also claimed that "not one single thing of criminal activity other than use of drugs and all of the things that are associated with addiction is proved by the laptop." He was convicted in June 2024 on three felony gun charges and pleaded guilty in September 2024 to failing to pay at least $1.4 million in federal taxes between 2016 and 2019, stemming from his international business dealings. Critics have argued that laptop files indicated Hunter Biden was acting as an unregistered foreign agent, though he faced no charges for this.
President Joe Biden pardoned his son in December 2024, commuting his convictions and barring further prosecution for past misconduct. Addressing the personal content on the laptop, Hunter Biden remarked, "I guarantee you, everybody has a nude."