How a Republican Working for Hunter Biden Is Trying to Discredit GOP Claims

President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, has added a former GOP congressman to his legal team as Republican attacks continue to pile up against him.

Former Representative Denver Riggleman, who represented Virginia's 5th Congressional district for one term, announced on Wednesday he's working with Biden's team to conduct digital forensic analysis on the infamous laptop that was allegedly left at a Delaware repair store by Biden in 2019.

"When I took this job, I wasn't pro-Hunter or anti-Hunter. I am pro-data and facts," Riggleman tweeted on Wednesday. "Forensics make clear that considerable information linked to Hunter Biden is questionable."

News of the laptop emerged three weeks before the 2020 election and was used by Trump to attack his opponent, but thus far, there have not been any bombshell revelations stemming from the emails found on the computer.

Biden has been a key target of House Republicans, who took control of the chamber early this year and who have launched a series of congressional probes into Biden's business dealings. One of the key strategies Riggleman will be able to help Biden's legal team with "insights into House Republicans and their methods," CBS News reported on Tuesday night.

"Denver has been assisting us with data analysis since late last year," Biden attorney Kevin Morris told CBS News. "He is an invaluable resource and we have made tremendous strides in untangling the massive amount of corruption and disinformation involved in this story. There will be much more coming to the public."

Republican Working for Hunter Biden Dispute Claims
Now-former Rep. Denver Riggleman, R-Va., conducts a news conference on the China Task Force report in the Capitols Rayburn Room on Wednesday, September 30, 2020. Riggleman announced on Wednesday he's working with Biden's team to... Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty

House Republicans have long been critical of Biden's business dealings abroad, suggesting that those ties swayed U.S. foreign policy when Biden's father was the vice president under the Obama administration.

GOP anger was further fueled last month after the Justice Department announced that it had reached a plea agreement with Hunter Biden on tax fraud and gun possession charges, a deal that Republicans blasted as a "sweetheart deal" he was able to secure thanks to his connection to the president.

Who is Denver Riggleman?

As congressional inquiries continue their work into the Biden family, Riggleman steps in to the picture to help find data from the laptop that would discredit GOP claims and that would fill in the gaps of the Republican-led investigations.

A former member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, Riggleman has become a staunch critic of former President Donald Trump in recent years. After leaving Congress in 2021, he served as a senior technical adviser to the House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riot. In September, Riggleman published a book about his work on the panel, titled "The Breach: The Untold Story of the Investigation into January 6th."

The former Air Force intelligence officer had not always been at odds with Trump. Back in 2020, he received Trump's "Total Endorsement" for his re-election campaign, but was ultimately defeated by Republican challenger Bob Good in the primaries after Riggleman sparked backlash among members of his party for officiating a same-sex wedding for former campaign volunteers.

Newsweek reached out to the University of New Jersey's Miller Center for comment.

Uncommon Knowledge

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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

About the writer


Katherine Fung is a Newsweek reporter based in New York City. Her focus is reporting on U.S. and world politics. ... Read more

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