#Surprised by Hunter Biden criminal probe? Blame media collusion

“Collusion” was perhaps the media’s favorite word these past four years, even when it wasn’t true. But you know what real collusion looks like? It’s when left-leaning media, that is the media in general, decide en masse that something is “not a story” because it harms their preferred political candidate.

That’s a key takeaway from Wednesday’s bombshell news revealing a federal probe of Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, that reportedly involves e-mails from his laptop — which The Post reported on exclusively in October. We even noted back then that the FBI had seized the computer and hard drive; Fox News later confirmed that it was part of an FBI money-laundering probe.

Other media outlets didn’t just ignore the story; they tried to suppress it. Then social media stepped in, preventing the story from being posted (Facebook) and even banning The Post (Twitter).

Their excuse? Pure speculation — now proven utterly baseless — that the story was the work of Russian propagandists.

“The New York Post’s controversial ‘scoop’ involves some shady behavior,” huffed Slate. “Hunter Biden story is Russian disinfo, dozens of former intel officials say,” Politico insisted after 50 top ex-intel officers signed a letter to that effect. The letter offered no proof, and now that claim turns out to be the disinformation.

Supposedly nonpartisan National Public Radio suppressed news about the laptop as its managing news editor, Terence Samuel, called it irrelevant.

“We don’t want to waste our time on stories that are not really stories” but “pure distractions,” he said, dismissing the news as “a politically driven event.”

Many Americans who’d already cast ballots in early voting sought to change their votes after learning of the e-mails, but others never even found out about them, thanks to the pro-Biden censors. How many might’ve voted differently?

After all, the issues involved aren’t just about Hunter, they’re about how he traded on his father’s name to make money — raising questions about what Joe Biden knew.

Hunter is painting the probe as only about tax fraud, while insisting an “objective review” will show that “I handled my affairs legally and appropriately.” Yet news reports Thursday indicate that the investigation has also explored possible money-laundering and Hunter’s foreign business ties, much of which was outlined in The Post’s October stories.

Our reporting cited e-mails discussing, for example, Hunter’s ties to Ukrainian and Chinese businesses and to corrupt officials, some linked to the Chinese Communist Party. They also reference a 2.8-carat diamond Hunter got in 2017 from CEFE China Energy founder Ye Jianming, who had ties to the Chinese military and has since vanished. The gem is reportedly part of the feds’ probe.

One e-mail even suggests Joe Biden himself might have been in line for some cash.

All of which raises serious national-security questions. A former business associate of Hunter, Tony Bobulinski, believes Joe Biden is “compromised.”

“There are allegations of securities fraud, money laundering [and] a crooked hospital deal with [Joe’s brother] Jim Biden,” notes Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), who’s demanding a special prosecutor to oversee the probe. “If Joe Biden becomes president, then all those prosecutors are in line to be fired next month,” he warns.

A special counsel does seem in order, given the deep politicization of the Justice Department under the last Democratic president. Anyone investigating the president’s son needs some kind of shield from potential White House interference.

Also in order: a host of explanations, and apologies, to the American people from all the outlets that found this news unfit to print. As one paper’s motto puts it, “Democracy dies in darkness.”