The story of an FBI agent that retired after being accused of bias around the bureau's investigation of Hunter Biden’s laptop received zero attention on the air from CNN and ABC since breaking on Monday.
Assistant Special Agent in Charge Timothy Thibault was publicly named by Senate Judiciary ranking member Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, in a July 18 letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland. Grassley cited whistleblowers who alleged a pattern of political bias from high-ranking officials, which included Thibault. On Sunday, news broke that Thibault had left the bureau.
Following the accusations, Morrison & Foerster LLP, who is representing Thibault, clarified that their client retired from the FBI and was not fired, nor forced to retire. Morrison said the Office of Special Counsel is investigating allegations that Thibault’s social media posts potentially violated the Hatch Act, which restrains the political activities of federal employees.
The law firm said Thibault "did not supervise the investigation of Hunter Biden."
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"In particular, Mr. Thibault was not involved in any decisions related to any laptop that may be at issue in that investigation, and he did not seek to close the investigation," Morrison said.
The firm also said that Thibault was not involved in either the planning or execution of the FBI raid on former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home.
The developing story received no attention from CNN or ABC shows from Monday to Wednesday, with a grand total of zero minutes spent on the topic, according a review of transcripts by Fox News Digital.
Furthermore, NBC News and CBS News gave the story minimal coverage.
CBS News spent 2 minutes and 30 seconds on the story on August 30, but did not give any mention of Hunter Biden, instead speaking on the development in terms of what it might mean for the FBI investigation into Trump.
Meanwhile, NBC News spent approximately one minute and 40 seconds on the story across two different segments. One of those segments was a 40-second headline roundup that included the story.
None of the networks responded to Fox News Digital for comment.
Left-leaning networks’ miniscule coverage of stories involving Hunter Biden is not a new invention.
In late July, the Daily Mail was first to publish a bombshell voicemail that appeared to contradict President Biden’s previous claims that he had no knowledge of his son’s overseas business dealings.
Biden is heard on the voicemail saying that he thought his son was "in the clear" after reading an article from The New York Times that reported on a 2017 private meeting between Hunter and the chairman of now-defunct Chinese energy company, CEFC.
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CNN, MSNBC, ABC, NBC and CBS all ignored the story from June 27 through the morning of July 7, according to a review of transcripts conducted by Fox News Digital.
The blackout continued over to print publications as well. The Washington Post had not covered the latest in the story, either, according to a search of their site.
In March, the New York Times ran a story verifying emails found on Hunter Biden’s laptop left at a Delaware repair store; emails that were first published by The New York Post a month before the 2020 presidential election. The correspondence suggested Biden knew more about his son’s finances than he had implied.
ABC, CBS and NBC made no mention of Hunter Biden on their morning and evening newscasts in the two days following the Times report, according to Grabien transcripts. Neither CNN nor MSNBC dedicated time to the ongoing scandal.
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In November 2021 it was discovered that an investment firm founded by Hunter Biden helped China Molybdenum, a Chinese company and one of the largest tungsten producers in the world, purchase a $2.65-billion dollar cobalt and copper mine. The deal was finalized while Biden was vice president.
According to transcripts, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS and NBC aired zero coverage of the story. Only The New York Times covered it.
The media’s disinterest in scandals surrounding Hunter Biden dates all the way back to October 2020, when the media parroted talking points from intelligence officials and then-candidate Biden, who all alleged the laptop was "Russian disinformation." The laptop has since been verified by numerous sources.
In the days leading up to the 2020 election, hosts and reporters at CNN, MSNBC, CBS and NBC all downplayed the Hunter Biden scandal, while ABC News ignored the story outright, according to a study by the Media Research Center.
Fox News’ Joseph A. Wulfsohn and Bradford Betz contributed to this report.
