NPR CEO Katherine Maher admitted during her congressional testimony on Wednesday that her organization failed to adequately cover the Hunter Biden laptop story during the 2020 election.
Maher and PBS CEO Paula Kerger faced tough questioning from House Republicans on the Delivering on Government Efficiency (DOGE) subcommittee over allegations of biased news coverage supported by federal funding.
“I do want to say that NPR acknowledges we were wrong in not giving more attention to the Hunter Biden laptop story,” Maher told Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas.
She later reiterated “we made a mistake” in not covering the laptop in a separate exchange with Rep. Brian Jack, R-Ga. Maher became CEO of NPR in 2024, so she was not part of the outlet at the time of the story’s initial release.
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NPR CEO Katherine Maher admitted “we were mistaken” in not aggressively covering the Hunter Biden laptop story in 2020. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
The New York Post’s reporting on the laptop came out during the heat of the 2020 election between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. The story highlighted Hunter Biden’s business dealings and potential involvement of his father, along with shocking content on the laptop.
Many mainstream news outlets downplayed the story and suggested it could be Russian disinformation. NPR’s public editor at the time, Kelly McBride, addressed questions about the lack of coverage, citing concerns about the story’s credibility.
“We don’t want to waste time on non-stories and distract our audience,” NPR editor Terence Samuel told McBride. “That’s how we approached this politically driven event.”
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NPR famously said, “We don’t want to waste our time on stories that are not really stories” in response to the Hunter Biden laptop scandal. (Getty images | New York Post)
In a revealing essay last April, ex-NPR editor Uri Berliner recounted how his colleagues dismissed the laptop story.
“The laptop was newsworthy, but the journalistic instinct was stifled,” Berliner wrote. “One journalist remarked it was good we weren’t covering this story because it could benefit Trump.”
“When the facts were confirmed and emails verified later on, we didn’t admit our mistake. Like with Russia collusion, transparency was lacking,” he added.
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Former editor Uri Berliner shocked the media industry with his revelations about bias at NPR. (Fox News Digital/Getty Images)
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During her discussion with Cloud, Maher also acknowledged the CIA’s endorsement of the Wuhan lab-leak theory, a topic NPR had previously dismissed.
Maher maintained NPR’s “nonpartisan” status despite her admissions.
