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In the moment they had no way of knowing for certain.

Some of the parties did. Or should have-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter_Biden_laptop_controversy

Rudy Giuliani provided the materials to the New York Post after they were allegedly found on a water-damaged MacBook Pro left at a Delaware computer repair shop owned by John Paul Mac Isaac. Mac Isaac obtained the laptop in April 2019, and eventually brought the laptop to the attention of the FBI, who seized it in December 2019, under the authority of a subpoena issued by a Wilmington grand jury that had been investigating Hunter Biden for financial matters since 2018.

So it appears the FBI may have had the original for almost a year before the NYP broke the story. Sure, it's wiki, but it's also amusing to watch the edit warring on 'controversial' topics like this. Their lede focuses on mudslinging around file creation/modification dates, and chain of custody issues.. But there's one obvious one there, namely the receipt the FBI gave Isaac when they seized the laptop.

One course could risk another 4 years of someone who goes to Russia for help in an election.

Or that meme could just be more misinformation. But such is the rabbit hole. See also-

https://nypost.com/2020/06/16/twitter-hires-former-fbi-chief-counsel-as-deputy-lawyer/

Twitter has tapped former FBI general counsel James Baker, a central player in the Russia collusion investigation, to serve as counsel to the tech giant.

And has been mentioned a few times in the stuff Musk's put out about their censorship/disinformation. Oh, and in shades of Watergate. Musk as Deep Throat. Need moar mind bleach!