Operation Round River: The FBI Had a Secret Operation to Bury Biden Corruption as Russian Disinformation..@@!
Newly declassified documents reveal the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force allegedly created an operation to systematically flag Biden-Ukraine corruption reporting as Russian disinformation, even after agents confirmed the authenticity of Hunter Biden’s laptop in December 2019.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence released documents showing the FBI unit formed a group of analysts approximately one month after obtaining the laptop to compile derogatory information on Joseph Biden, corruption allegations, and Ukraine-related topics – including references to Burisma and Hunter Biden – and flag it as potential foreign interference.
Internal FBI communications indicate agents questioned the Russian disinformation assessment. Text messages from one agent showed skepticism about concluding the laptop was influenced by Moscow.
Congressional Briefings and Media Leaks
The declassified documents confirm the Foreign Influence Task Force provided “defensive briefings” to congressional members who obtained reporting related to the Ukraine narrative, according to the released materials.
The briefings were subsequently leaked to media outlets, the documents suggest. Republican senators Ron Johnson and Chuck Grassley, along with Representative Jim Jordan, appeared on the FBI’s “conduit” list related to these briefings.
Timeline and Public Narrative
The laptop had been in FBI custody for approximately one year when Twitter and Facebook restricted the New York Post story about it in October 2020. Fifty-one intelligence officials signed a letter characterizing the story as consistent with Russian disinformation tactics.
The media widely adopted the Russian disinformation framing through the 2020 election. The documents now raise questions about whether this narrative was established before the FBI’s full assessment of the laptop’s contents.
Additional Investigations
Reports indicate FBI headquarters is withholding a 400-page Office of Professional Responsibility report and approximately 7,000 pages of supporting documents investigating the Crossfire Hurricane operation, according to communications from observers tracking the matter.
The withheld investigation reportedly involves the CIA and the Five Eyes intelligence alliance – comprising the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand – in relation to 2016 operations.