Hunter Biden Awarded $1.7 Million in Defamation Lawsuit Against Former CEO Who Accused Him of Taking Bribe
A California federal judge has awarded Hunter Biden $1.7 million in punitive damages in his defamation lawsuit against former Overstock.com CEO and Trump supporter Patrick Byrne.
U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson had said at a hearing in January that Byrne would face punitive damages after “failing to defend himself” against the claims by the controversial son of former President Joe Biden, Courthouse News Service reported.
The defamation stems from a claim by Byrne that the younger Biden had sought an $800 million bribe from Iran sometime in 2021. Biden sued the former CEO for publicly making that allegation.
Specifically, Byrne’s repeatedly claimed the son that had sought the bribe from Iran in exchange for persuading his father, who was president at the time, to release $8 billion in frozen Iranian assets and ease pressure during nuclear negotiations.
Judge Wilson, who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, stated in his award:
Here, the evidence is clear and convincing that defendant has engaged in intentional misrepresentation with conscious disregard towards plaintiff’s rights. Defendant’s defamation went far beyond mere negligence. In fact, defendant has admitted that after the offending article was published, defendant repeatedly reposted the article across social media platforms and encouraged his followers on those platforms to promote it further.
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