In a recent debate among candidates for West Virginia's 2024 gubernatorial election, West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner, a Republican and a 23-year veteran of the U.S. Army, asserted his belief that the 2020 presidential election was "stolen," attributing blame to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The discussion took place on December 7, during a Metro News-hosted debate covering various topics, including tax cuts and economic growth.

"17% of voters said they would have changed their vote if they would have known the HB laptop was real. The CIA and FBI interfered in the 2020 election and changed the outcome. With all the interference, and fraud that we now know happened, Trump won by a landslide." Travis

When asked about his stance on former President Donald Trump's claims of election theft, Warner affirmed Trump's narrative, specifically implicating the CIA in orchestrating the alleged manipulation. Warner asserted that former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell colluded with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was advising the Biden campaign at the time, to produce a letter signed by 51 former senior intelligence officials. This letter cast doubt on the authenticity of the Hunter Biden laptop contents by framing it as Russian disinformation, with Warner claiming that the intention was to influence the presidential election.

Warner accused Morell and Blinken of collaborating to "sell a lie to the American people" for the purpose of swaying the election results. According to Warner, polling suggests that had voters been aware of the Hunter Biden laptop's contents, the outcome of the 2020 presidential election might have been different.