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"Never meet your heroes," they say. Well, whoever quoth that pithy line never met Miranda Devine.
Last Monday night in Yorkville, at indie bookstore Logos Books, bon vivant/raconteur/writer and former New York Post "Page Six" maestro Doug Dechert hosted a reading for The Big Guy (How A President And His Son Sold Out America), the latest work of Devine's. The 370-page tome expertly exposes the inner workings of the Biden crime family with grave psychological insight.
One of The Manhattan's favorite journalists, Divine is the top reporter at the New York Post, America's oldest continuously-published newspaper, but she's no diva--far from it. Devine synthesizes qualities rarely associated: she is affable, humble, effortlessly sophisticated, and listens like a therapist.
It turns out Devine is also an Aussie, born in Sydney. The accent is there, if faint and a bit on the posh side ("cordial" comes out as "kor-dee-ull"). She is her father's daughter, for Frank Devine--born a Kiwi--was a prominent Australian newspaper editor.
Devine represents the serious side of the Post, which, true to its broadsheet roots, also traffics in the tawdry and clickbait-y. That said, the Post's serious side is downright steely. It was the only major media source to run the Hunter Biden laptop story, which was almost entirely Devine's work. She subsequently authored the national bestseller Laptop From Hell in 2021.
As Devine revealed on Monday, the FBI had already met with social media giants Facebook and Twitter ahead of the story's release, warning them that Russia was running a fake leak campaign involving Hunter Biden and information on a missing personal device of his.
As a result, when the Post story was published, it was blocked by social media. A fracas ensued: who was telling the truth?
Then came the letter signed by 51 former intelligence officials--CIA collusion with the Biden campaign--to discredit the laptop story. And then Biden "won" the increasingly suspect election with a statistically outlandish 81 million votes.
Still in boxes 📦 because too many cameras were watching maybe
— Jennifer Depew, RD (@deNutrients) November 6, 2024
This graph shows how unrealistic 81 million votes was. pic.twitter.com/rcgaPdMBnI
Many voters claimed afterward that if they had known of the laptop story before the election--and that it was in fact true--they wouldn't have voted for Biden.
And so it was that Devine found herself at the center of the biggest story of the year.
It began when she was tipped off by Rudy Giuliani's lawyer, Bob Costello. He sent four screenshots from the laptop to Devine. It was enough to set the hook.
To hear her tell the tale is a delight. Take the following passage, which erases the mystery from one of Biden's many strange public utterances. He was touring deep red Fort Myers, Florida after Hurricane Ian.
[Biden] wasn't expecting to find many allies. But then he spied Ray Murphy, the "nonpartisan" mayor of that conservative city, a jolly, portly fellow who was decked out for the occasion in a wide-brimmed safari hat. The two men had never met before, but Joe made a beeline for him on the way to the podium where DeSantis was waiting.
He knew at once that Murphy was a kindred spirit. He had a special sixth sense about people and felt a special tribal bond with Irish Catholics. They quickly bonded as Murphy recited a list of people they knew in common from Joe's hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Unbeknownst to either man, their words were being captured on a hot mic, and nearby TV cameras waiting for the press conference filmed the interchange.
"Thanks for everything. Thanks for coming down. We appreciate it," says Murphy, vigorously shaking the president's hand and squeezing his shoulder.
"Keep the faith," says Joe, under his breath.
"I keep the faith," says the mayor, before the conversation takes a turn for the weird.
Joe is bursting to boast about his secret triumph. He can't hold it in any longer.
"And by the way," he says, drawing in Murphy close, "You were raised the same way I was."
Murphy takes off his sunglasses and studies Biden's face: "I was. I was."
"No one f*cks with a Biden," says the president, giving him a knowing look.
Murphy pauses and then laughs uproariously.
"Yeah, you're goddamn right," he says, although he doesn't have a clue what Joe is talking about.
Joe keeps pumping Murphy's hand: "You can't argue with your brothers outside the house."
"That's exactly right. That's exactly right," says Murphy, finally managing to break his hand free.
At the time, Joe's boastful outburst seemed puzzling. But the next day, the potential reason for his cockiness was revealed. A story appeared in the Washington Post that hinted at the internal struggle that had been raging in the Delaware US Attorney's office, a struggle Joe knew he had won.
Joe walked across the podium, a slight smirk on his face. He knew things were going his way.
Of course, one can't tell the story of Joe Biden without telling the story of his put-upon addict son, Hunter.
Much of the book deals with Hunter's complicated past. In her remarks, Devine even expressed a degree of sympathy for Hunter, whom she calls "the bag man for the family" when he aspired to be a writer or artist. She pointed out that "despite all the jokes," Hunter is "quite good at both."
If you think you know the entire story of Hunter's problems (as I did after writing about it extensively in 2019-2020), prepare to discover much more about those who had the courage to blow the whistle on the Biden family. Indeed, the book is dedicated "To the whistleblowers."
Two such men are Joe Ziegler, crack IRS tax fraud investigator, and his boss, Gary Shapley. It is difficult to imagine that an IRS tax investigation story could crackle with excitement, but here it does. The two men--stood fast in the maelstrom surrounding Hunter's financial data. And so it goes in this true crime page turner: the story we know generally, colored in gray in the repressed corners of our minds, come to life in vibrant hues as Devine, like a stage director, snaps the pieces in place.
As for the final chapter in Joe's life--and who knows where Hunter stands in the grand reckoning--Devine believes that Joe may well still pardon Hunter before his term ends in just over two months. Joe has stated that he won't pardon Hunter, and gave his "word as a Biden" as a promise.
As Devine wryly noted, the value of that phrase has declined steadily for the last four years.
So what's her take on the present moment, and the next four years? The author reminded her audience that while Trump was "mocked mercilessly" over his relationship with "Little Rocket Man" Kim Jong Un, the demi-dictator did indeed comply with American demands and stopped his provocative testing.
Devine further noted, "Iran was broke and on its knees and unable to fund its proxies to attack Israel as they just did [under Biden]." His critics may not understand Trump's style, but when push comes to shove, he is able to match the energy of his toughest counterparts on the global stage. Recall, as Devine did, Trump's pointed private remarks to Vladimir Putin about bombing Moscow if he invaded Ukraine.
"There are a lot of gangsters in the world," said Devine, "and Donald Trump can speak their language."
