Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) said Sunday that there’s a need to “look seriously” at “collusion” between the press, tech companies and America’s national security apparatus, after an aide to former President Donald Trump promised to “come after” members of the media he claimed helped President Joe Biden “rig” elections.
“We will go out and find the conspirators not just in government but in the media — Yes, we’re going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens, who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections — we’re going to come after you,” the aide, Kash Patel, said on Steve Bannon’s podcast last week.
When asked about those comments Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Vance pointed to theories often trumpeted by the those on the right about a laptop from Hunter Biden that, among other things, held emails detailing Hunter Biden’s business dealings, which a New York Post report claimed showed corruption by Joe Biden.
“We know, in 2020 that there were massive pieces of evidence that were suppressed by collusion between the national security state in this country,” Vance said, referencing reports that stories about the laptop were blocked from Twitter, now X.
To date, no concrete evidence has emerged showing that Joe Biden made policy decisions as vice president to help his son’s business interests. A Politifact analysis concluded that “nothing from the laptop has revealed illegal or unethical behavior by Joe Biden as vice president with regard to his son’s tenure as a director for Burisma, a Ukraine-based natural gas company.”
But on Sunday, Vance pushed for a deeper dive into why the story was buried by Twitter.
“[We] need to look seriously at how there was collusion between members of the press and big technology companies and members of national security state,” Vance told CNN’s Jake Tapper.
“It is not journalism to take your security clearance, lie to the American people, and then persuade the big technology companies to censor anti-Joe Biden stories,” Vance said. “That’s not journalism. That is cooperation between the government and journalism.”
Amanda Smith is a dedicated U.S. correspondent with a passion for uncovering the stories that shape the nation. With a background in political science, she provides in-depth analysis and insightful commentary on domestic affairs, ensuring readers are well-informed about the latest developments across the United States.
