In October 2020, a few weeks before the election, the New York Post reported on the existence and contents of Hunter Biden’s laptop. Media sources other than the Post did not report on the laptop, supposedly due to concerns about the authenticity of the computer and its contents. Below is a partial timeline of FBI’s involvement in the laptop.

• Summer 2019: John Paul Mac Isaac, owner of the computer repair shop, attempted to notify the FBI through his father that he had a laptop belonging to Hunter Biden. The FBI turned Isaac away.
• October 2019: The FBI contacted Isaac’s father and eventually Isaac to discuss the laptop, which occurred during the impeachment of President Trump. That same month, Hunter Biden’s attorney contacted Isaac about the laptop, but nothing came of that interaction.
• November 2019: The FBI authenticated the laptop as belonging to Hunter Biden and determined it was not part of any foreign disinformation campaign. The FBI authenticated the laptop, in part, by matching communications contained on the computer with intercepted 2017 communications from China. The FBI kept the authentication confidential, supposedly due to concerns over foreign disinformation.
• December 2019: The FBI seized the laptop from Isaac under a subpoena issued by a Wilmington Grand Jury. The grand jury had been investigating Hunter Biden’s foreign financial dealings. The IRS was also notified that the laptop likely contained evidence of tax crimes.
• Run-up to the 2020 Election: The FBI warned social media companies about potential foreign disinformation related to the laptop, which caused the story to be suppressed on Twitter and Facebook.
• Post-2020 Election: The FBI continued to remain silent about the authenticity and contents of the laptop, citing concerns over foreign disinformation and ongoing criminal cases.

Sources: Morris and Fonrouge, NY Post, 2020. John Solomon, Just the News, 2020. Kerr and Simonson, Free Beacon, 2023. Oliver, Washington Examiner, 2023. Sperry, NY Post, 2023. Graphic: President Biden and his son Hunter, AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu).