Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper accused Politico of having "deliberately distorted" an infamous letter signed by him and other intelligence officials about Hunter Biden's laptop being potential Russian disinformation.
Then-Politico reporter Natasha Bertrand obtained the letter for a story headlined, "Hunter Biden story is Russian disinfo, dozens of former intel officials say," mere weeks before the 2020 election.
"There was message distortion," Clapper told The Washington Post's Glenn Kessler in an article published Monday. "All we were doing was raising a yellow flag that this could be Russian disinformation. Politico deliberately distorted what we said. It was clear in paragraph five."
Clapper was one of 50 intelligence officials that signed the letter, which was written in October 2020, shortly after the New York Post first reported on the contents of Hunter Biden's laptop. Clapper, along with at least a dozen other signees on the letter, endorsed Joe Biden for president that year.
Bertrand, who was criticized by the Washington Post's Erik Wemple for her "boosterism" of the discredited Christopher Steele dossier, now works at CNN.
FLASHBACK: BIDN OFFICIALS PUSHED ANGLE THAT HUNTER LAPTOP WAS 'RUSSIAN DISINFO'
Another signer, former deputy director of National Intelligence for analysis Thomas Fingar, told the Post that no one should be "surprised" by members of the media or politicians that "willfully or unintentionally" misconstrue statements.
"No one who has spent time in Washington should be surprised that journalists and politicians willfully or unintentionally misconstrue oral or written statements," Fingar wrote in an email. "The statement we signed was carefully written to minimize the likelihood that what was said would be misconstrued, and to provide a clear written record that could be used to identify and disprove distortions."
Kessler's fact-check dinged Biden for declaring at a debate with Trump that the former intelligence officials had concluded the laptop was a "Russian plan," accusing Biden of exaggerating.
Politico did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
"The intent of the letter was that this could be Russian disinformation — emphasis on could. It’s a very important nuance … a distinction that people are always ignoring," Clapper also told the Washington Post.
BIDEN'S CLAIMS THAT HUNTER LAPTOP WAS ‘RUSSIAN DISINFORMATION’ DEBUNKED BY HIS OWN SON
The Post also noted another signer, former Defense Intelligence Agency deputy director Douglas Wise, who told The Australian that signers believed the laptop was at least somewhat legitimate in order "to make any Russian disinformation credible."
Fingar agreed and said the best disinformation campaigns are based on factual information.
"From my experience, the most effective disinformation campaigns — what were called Soviet ‘active measures’ when I first encountered them during the Reagan administration — build on factual information," Fingar said.
"Pure fiction is less likely to fool target audiences. I suspect but do not know that other signers have drawn the same lesson," he continued.
JOE BIDEN MET WITH AT LEAST 14 OF HUNTER BIDEN'S BUSINESS ASSOCIATES WHILE VICE PRESIDENT
Several Twitter executives testified before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee about Twitter's decision to suppress the Hunter Biden laptop story on the social media site before the election.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., claimed the story was "half-fake" during the hearing and criticized the hearing in general.
"We could be talking about the cost of prescription drugs, abortion rights, civil rights, voting rights, but instead we're talking about Hunter Biden's half fake laptop story. I mean, this is an embarrassment, but I’ll go into it," she said.
