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1 November, 2020
A second laptop owned by Hunter Biden was seized by the U.S. government, it emerged on Friday - adding another layer of intrigue to an already complex case.
Biden's first laptop was handed over to the FBI in 2019 from a repair shop in Delaware, near the home of his father Joe. The owner has said he was suspicious about the contents, without elaborating.
That laptop has become the source of much speculation regarding his business dealings, and whether his father was involved and profiting.
The second laptop was taken in February from the office of a Massachusetts psychiatrist accused of professional misconduct, according to NBC News.
That laptop was in the custody of the Drugs Enforcement Agency, NBC reported, for unexplained reasons.
Hunter Biden, pictured in 2016, had a second laptop seized in February from a doctor's office
Dr Keith Ablow, in whose office Hunter Biden left the laptop which was seized in February
Hunter Biden was not a target of the search or the investigation, and his lawyer ultimately got his laptop back.
It is unclear why his computer was left in the office of the psychiatrist, Dr Keith Ablow.
Ablow, a well known author, last year settled several malpractice lawsuits that alleged that he engaged in sexual relationships with patients, inappropriately prescribed drugs, and committed 'boundary violations' between 2011 and 2018.
He was not charged with any crimes.
Hunter Biden is pictured with his father Joe in January 2010
Joe Biden has defended his son, insisting he is a good man who is being unfairly maligned
The business activities of Hunter Biden, the 50-year-old son of Joe and his late first wife Neilia, have become something of an obsession for the Trump campaign, in much the way that Hillary Clinton's emails transfixed them in 2016.
Hunter is long known to have struggled with drug abuse and profited from his father's name.
But Joe Biden's critics are yet to pin any evidence of corruption on the Democrat candidate, despite their best efforts.
One man who tried, Hunter Biden's former business partner Tony Bobulinski, claimed that Joe Biden was aware of their efforts to set up an investment firm with Chinese backers in 2017. He also claimed that Joe was referred to in communications as 'the big guy', looking to take a stake in the profits.
No one has been able to prove any involvement by Joe Biden, however, and the Wall Street Journal - which was handed a dossier by Bobulinski - concluded that Joe Biden had not been connected to the short-lived and unsuccessful venture.
Donald Trump has accused the mainstream US press and social media giants of ignoring – and even burying – the Hunter laptop affair.
He claims a liberal, pro-Democrat elite is 'protecting' his rival.
Hunter's first laptop, left at the Delaware repair shop in 2018, contains 11 gigabytes of material and covers the period from when Mr Biden served as Vice President under Mr Obama to when Hunter dropped it at the Mac Store in Wilmington.
A small selection of its contents was leaked to the press by Mr Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani, sparking unsubstantiated claims that the material may have been fabricated by Russia to derail Mr Biden's White House bid.
Others have suggested the laptop and its contents are a hoax perpetuated by China to weaken Mr Biden.
Yet neither Hunter nor his father have questioned that the laptop was left at the Delaware store nor the authenticity of material from it that has so far appeared in the media.
Evidence seen by The Mail on Sunday appears to confirm that Hunter left the laptop at the shop and the FBI later picked it up.
Last night, lawyers for Hunter declined to comment.
Representatives for Mr Biden did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
An unkempt man left his laptop in a nondescript computer store in a Delaware shopping mall - and never returned
Unkempt and unshaven, the man stumbled into the nondescript computer store at a Delaware shopping mall.
Entering The Mac Shop carrying three water-damaged computers, he approached owner John Paul MacIsaac, who later claimed that he smelled alcohol on the customer's breath.
Mr MacIsaac was able to fix two of the machines, but the third was beyond repair.
Then the customer gave his name: Hunter Biden.
The seemingly innocuous encounter on April 12, 2019, has now become a global news story reaching the White House via Silicon Valley and inhabited by a colourful cast of characters.
As well as the albino shop owner, there's Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, a burly wrestler turned US Navy officer, a nerdy tech wizard and the President himself.
Mr MacIsaac, 44, completed a one-page form with Hunter's name, address and mobile phone details – all of which have been verified – and a bill for $85 due on completion of the work.
Hunter Biden dropped off his MacBook at the computer store the Mac Shop, which is based in a Delawre shopping mall
He told his customer he would need to copy the contents of the MacBook on to an external hard drive to recover them and the process would take a few days.
The man left – but never returned. Under US law, when 90 days had passed, the uncollected laptop legally became Mr MacIsaac's property.
He decided to look at the recovered material on the laptop – which is now in the hands of the FBI as part of an investigation in which Mr MacIsaac is a material witness – and says a chill ran down his spine.
The Mail on Sunday today reveals some of that material for the first time – exposing how the son of the man tipped to be America's next President left himself wide open to blackmail.
Mr MacIsaac fears repercussions. 'I have everything documented. I have everything saved. But the shop is over.
'I won't be able to sustain my business… too many people are angry.'
He eventually alerted the FBI who collected the laptop on December 9, 2019.
The owner of the computer store, John Paul MacIsaac, later claimed that he smelled alcohol on Biden's breath. Under US law, when 90 days had passed, the uncollected laptop legally became Mr MacIsaac's property
An agent left a 'receipt for property' and a Grand Jury subpoena ordering Mr MacIsaac to testify about its contents.
At this point, the story becomes murkier.
Mr MacIsaac began emailing various senators about what he had found.
After getting no reply, he contacted Mr Giuliani who put him in touch with his lawyer, Robert Costello.
On October 14, the New York Post ran a front-page story with the headline: BIDEN SECRET EMAILS.
Inside they published a few emails relating to Hunter's business dealings in the Ukraine and alleged links to his father.
Joe and Hunter Biden have denied any impropriety.
Strangely, the story got little traction in the US media.
Stranger still, Twitter blocked the New York Post's account while Facebook and Google censored any mention of the article. Under pressure, they relented.
Even when Tony Bobulinski, a former US Navy serviceman and ex-wrestling champion who was Hunter's business partner, went on Trump-supporting Fox News to confirm he had emails verifying those on the laptop, the story was largely ignored.
Meanwhile, a cyber-security expert hired by a freelance journalist drove to Mr Costello's home on October 19 to copy the hard drive.
He then spent 'hundreds of hours' verifying the information and satisfying himself that the data had not been interfered with.
Finally, as Mr Trump fumed about the absence of media coverage for the Biden Files, the material was offered to The Mail on Sunday and MailOnline.
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