Was Hunter Biden being truthful

Special interest Article
Anthony J. Iantosca, BCFE
IAFEI

Published by Anthony Iantosca, BCFE

For the International Academy of Forensic Examiners and Investigators.

Forensic Linguistic Analysis

Was Hunter Biden being truthful

President Joe Biden's son Hunter dodged several questions in a new interview about a controversial laptop that is tied to him and was seized by the FBI in 2019. Hunter Biden told CBS News in an interview clip released on Friday that he has "no idea whether or not" the laptop belongs to him, but acknowledged that it was "certainly" a possibility, before raising several other theories. "There could be a laptop out there that was stolen from me," Hunter Biden said in the interview. "It could be that I was hacked. It could be that it was the -- that it was Russian intelligence. It could be that it was stolen from me. Or that there was a laptop stolen from me."

The comments are some of the only ones made publicly by Biden about the matter. During the 2020 campaign, former President Donald Trump repeatedly cited the laptop and its alleged contents to promote dubious corruption claims against Biden and his father regarding their dealings in Ukraine.

The FBI took possession of a laptop that is purported to belong to Hunter Biden. Investigators subpoenaed the laptop in 2019 from a computer shop in Delaware, CNN previously reported.

Analysis:

"no idea whether or not"

I do not know if the interviewer is "para phrasing" this statement. It should read "I have no idea." The lack of the pronoun "I" shows a lack of commitment to his statement. Also the statement "no Idea" is deceptive. Everyone has an "idea" about something. I may not know how to land a space ship on the moon, but I have an "idea" how it is done.

"certainly" a possibility, before raising several other theories.

He just stated he has no "idea" now he changes his statement and states "certainly" a possibility. The word "certainly" again means that he is "uncertain" or thinking about other possibilities. The word "certain or certainly" is a word people use to bolster their statement but it weakens their statement.

"There could be a laptop out there that was stolen from me,"

This is a very equivocal statement the words "could be" means he is unsure if the laptop was stolen. The words "a laptop" he is distancing himself from the laptop.

A truthful statement should have said,

My laptop was stolen from me.

"It could be that I was hacked. It could be that it was the -- that it was Russian intelligence. It could be that it was stolen from me. Or that there was a laptop stolen from me."

The words "could be" throughout his statement shows that he is unsure about anything he is stating in his statement. He doesn't want to give a bold faced lie so using the words "could be" this is a deceptive way of stating what he knows to be false. He is leaving this up to you to believe in his innocence with all these "could be" possibilities.

For someone who had "no idea" about anything, Hunter Biden has a lot of "ideas" about everything.

Was hunter Biden being truthful? No he was not being truthful. He showed a complete lack of commitment to any of his statements. Also always pay close attention when a person states "I have no idea." As you can see in Hunter Biden's statement he had a lot of "ideas."