The controversy surrounding a diary allegedly authored by Ashley Biden, daughter of U.S. President Joe Biden, has resurfaced after Snopes, a prominent fact-checking website, changed its rating of the diary's authenticity from "unproven" to "true." The change in rating comes after Ashley Biden sent a letter to a New York judge acknowledging that her "personal journal can be viewed online," effectively confirming the diary's existence.
Excerpts from the diary, which first surfaced in October 2020 during Joe Biden's presidential campaign against Donald Trump, have been circulating on social media platforms, particularly on X (formerly Twitter). One of the most controversial passages in the diary describes Ashley's experiences of being "hyper-sexualized" at a young age and taking "showers with my dad," which she acknowledged as "probably not appropriate."
The diary's contents have been used by conservative figures, such as Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, to attack President Biden. The right-wing blog The National File first published pages from Ashley's journal, which they claimed to have obtained from Project Veritas, a conservative outlet that had purchased the diary from Aimee Harris, a Florida woman who later admitted to stealing it.
In her letter to the judge, Ashley Biden wrote that she was "constantly re-traumatized" by the attention her diary drew and that its release led to her and her loved ones being defamed by "false accusations." She requested that Harris be "held accountable" for stealing and selling her personal journal for profit.
Harris pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge in 2022 and was sentenced to one month in prison and three months of home confinement in April 2023. Robert Kurlander, who was also involved in the theft and sale of the diary, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport stolen property across state lines but has not yet been sentenced.
The controversy surrounding Ashley Biden's diary has sparked intense debate on social media, with some users demanding action against President Biden based on the contents of the diary. "This is huge and should never be ignored. Disqualifying to say the least," one user wrote on X.
Others pointed to the FBI's investigation into the alleged leak as evidence of the diary's authenticity. "We knew it was real the day FBI tried arresting people saying someone stole the diary," another user commented.
The FBI conducted searches at the residences of James O'Keefe, the founder of Project Veritas, as part of their investigation into the leak. Although no members of Project Veritas were charged, they came under heavy scrutiny for their involvement in obtaining and attempting to verify the diary's contents.
As the controversy continues to unfold, it remains to be seen how the confirmation of the diary's authenticity will impact public perception of President Biden and his family. While some are using the diary's contents to criticize the president, others argue that the invasion of Ashley Biden's privacy and the theft of her personal journal are the real issues at hand.
