Hunter Biden laptop controversy
In October 2020, a controversy arose involving data from a laptop that belonged to Hunter Biden that was abandoned at a Delaware computer shop in 2019. John Paul Mac Isaac, the shop owner, said that the laptop was left by a man who identified himself as Hunter Biden. The proprietor also stated that he is legally blind and could not be sure whether the man was actually Hunter Biden. Three weeks before the 2020 United States presidential election, the New York Post published a front-page story that presented emails from the laptop, alleging they showed corruption by Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. According to the New York Post, the story was based on information provided to Rudy Giuliani, the personal attorney of incumbent president and candidate Donald Trump, by Mac Isaac. Forensic analysis later authenticated some of the data from the laptop, including one of two key emails used by the Post in their initial reporting. Trump attempted to turn the story into an October surprise to hurt Joe Biden's campaign by falsely alleging that while in office Biden had acted corruptly regarding Ukraine to protect his son. The hard drive data had been shared with the FBI and Republican