Does the method of collection matter for determining the truth of the matter? This is the same defense or reasoning as the HRC emails in 2016.
Does it matter if HRC emails were a DNC insider or a foreign agent hacking?
Does it matter Hunter emails, msgs and videos were from an abandoned laptop, a chinese blackmail operation, or another source?
Isn't the real question: are the emails authentic? Or have they been manipulated? What do the emails and private messages tell us? What can other sources corroborate? I think this is Glenn's point. There are sources coming forward saying the emails and meetings that involve them are authentic.
The Biden campaign has never disputed the authenticity of the contents of the HDD (because that is a trap. they know that the trump campaign has evidence, and they are smart to not get caught in a lie. then the lie about the laptop becomes the story)
Re:My Resignation from the Intercept
by ethanwillis on Friday October 30, 2020 @01:53AM
(#24939557)
We want to emphasize that we do not know if the emails,
provided to the New York Post by
President Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, are
genuine or not and that we do not have
evidence of Russian involvement -- just that our
experience makes us deeply suspicious that the
Russian government played a significant role in this
case.
....
> The reporting around this story has been absolutely unbelievable to me
OK, here's the thing though. This is what I call the "Jordan Peterson school of thought."
You begin with a premise. Hunter Biden left his laptop at a repair store, some files were found on it, and these were delivered to a Republican Party muck-raker (and that is the most neutral thing you can say about Giuliani).
But, before you examine the premise, you are invited to look at the implications. If this is true then Hunter Biden has traded on his father's name! If this is true then Hunter Biden has gotten involved with some shady characters in Ukraine! If this is true, why hasn't Joe Biden ever recused himself from his dealings with these self-same shady characters?! And the biggest thing... why isn't the Main Stream Media (MSM) doing something about this? What do they have to hide?!
In short, you are set a premise, you are required to accept the truth of this premise, then you are pulled on an emotional journey about where the premise leads you...
But the premise is garbage. In Jordan Peterson's case, the US military is not the same in terms of complexity as real life, for instance. In this case, the Hunter Biden forgot his laptop story does not appear to hold water. You would have to assume a range of additional entities for it to make sense.
The reason the media are not reporting on this is because they want evidence that Hunter owned that laptop and that it is, as the US Intelligence community already pointed out, likely Russian interference. (No additional entities assumed here, since their intention to disrupt the US election is well documented, videoed and demonstrated).
Why this story is gaining so much traction on HN is beyond me. I am sure that Biden does not have the pearly white hands of a saint, nor is Trump as evil as he is sometimes painted, but I need you to pay the coin of logic before you expect me to invest in your emotional stock.