Investigative journalism mostly reconstructs events and exchanges from hidden scraps, obscure records, and third-party documents. Often the best we can do is to show that something bad must have happened based on the coincidences we find in these records. Because reporters are not prosecutors, they cannot issue subpoenas or compel testimony. It is exceedingly rare for a reporter to obtain that “smoking gun.”
That is why the case of Hunter Biden’s missing laptop, combined with original text messages and emails obtained through direct access to a recipient’s Gmail account, is so notable. It is primary, original source. At long last, even Hunter Biden himself has finally acknowledged it.
