Facebook suspends account of Ukrainian lawmaker and Rudy Giuliani associate who made claims about a second laptop linked to Hunter Biden
Facebook on Monday suspended the account of a Ukrainian lawmaker who had made claims about a second laptop linked to Hunter Biden.
Andrii Derkach posted to Facebook on Friday to say there is a 'second laptop' involving evidence of corruption and connected to the Bidens, The Daily Beast reported.
After suspending his account Facebook told the site in a statement: 'We removed this account and this Page for violating our policy against the use of our platform by people engaged in election-focused influence operations.'
Last week, the New York Post published emails and photographs that the outlet claimed were contained on a laptop owned by Hunter Biden. The messages suggested that Hunter had arranged for a top executive at Ukrainian energy company Burisma to meet his father.
Biden's campaign and a lawyer for Hunter Biden said they had no record of such a meeting taking place. They have not addressed the authenticity of the emails.
Derkach is one of Rudy Giuliani's principal contacts and was mentioned in an August intelligence assessment that described a concerted Russian effort to disparage Biden. A Treasury Department sanction announcement from last month characterized Derkach as an 'active Russian agent for over a decade.'
He was sanctioned by the Treasury Department in September for being 'directly or indirectly engaged in, sponsored, concealed, or otherwise been complicit in foreign interference in an attempt to undermine the upcoming 2020 U.S. presidential election'.
Derkach is one of Rudy Giuliani's principal contacts and was mentioned in an August intelligence assessment that described a concerted Russian effort to disparage Biden. A Treasury Department sanction announcement from last month characterized Derkach as an 'active Russian agent for over a decade'
Facebook on Monday suspended Derkach's account, pictured. Facebook said in a statement: 'We removed this account and this Page for violating our policy against the use of our platform by people engaged in election-focused influence operations'
Derkach had claimed in a Facebook post to know of a second laptop, used by 'two representatives for the interests of Burisma founder Zlochevsky.' Hunter served on the board of directors at Ukrainian energy company Burisma.
In the post Derkach says that laptop 'was given to Ukrainian law enforcement' and that Burisma representatives were now serving as 'witnesses in criminal proceedings.'
The Ukrainian parliamentarian said: 'The facts that confirm international corruption are stored on the second laptop. This laptop was handed over to Ukrainian law enforcement officers, and the "workers" themselves are now witnesses in criminal proceedings.'
Derkach posted to Facebook on Friday to say there is a 'second laptop' involving evidence of corruption and connected to the Bidens, The Daily Beast reports
Derkach says the workers are 'ready to tell' about international corruption involving the Bidens. He warns: 'But most importantly! These are not the last witnesses or the last laptop.'
Derkach in recent months has leaked recordings of calls Biden had as vice president with Ukraine's then-leader, audio the Biden campaign contends is heavily edited.
Ukrainian lawmaker Andriy Derkach
Despite his own administration's warnings on Derkach, Trump has promoted those recordings on Twitter.
Giuliani said last month: 'I don’t know what’s in the Treasury Department investigation, nor have I ever seen any evidence that he is or is not a Russian agent.'
But the president's personal lawyer has not been shy about discussing his foreign contacts, including with Derkach. In December, Derkach posted on his Facebook page photos of him and Giuliani meeting in Kyiv.
In the emails published by the Post, Hunter Biden is shown pursuing a lucrative deal involving China's largest private energy company, saying in one message that the proposed deal would be 'interesting for me and my family', before discussing remuneration packages.
The FBI is reportedly conducting an investigation into whether the allegations are part of a Russian disinformation campaign against the Biden campaign, though the agency has refused to speak publicly on the matter.
Last week, the New York Post published emails and photographs that the outlet claimed were contained on a laptop owned by Hunter Biden. The messages suggested that Hunter had arranged for a top executive at Ukrainian energy company Burisma to meet his father
Giuliani says foreign sources didn’t provide the Hunter Biden emails. He says a laptop containing the emails and intimate photos was simply abandoned in a Delaware repair shop and the shop owner reached out to Giuliani’s lawyer.
Former White House strategist Steve Bannon, who was recently arrested for federal money-laundering and fraud, said Sunday everything that has come to light from Hunter Biden's hard drive is true.
He said Hunter's lawyer tried to email the repair shop to get the laptop back and has since then contacted Bannon and his team to retrieve the sensitive hard drive.