A federal judge has awarded $1.7 million in punitive damages to Hunter Biden, in addition to sanctions against former Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne, over statements linking the Biden family to an alleged scheme involving Iranian assets and the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks.
The ruling, handed down on Friday by District Judge Stephen Wilson in California, came after Byrne repeatedly stood by claims that Hunter Biden had pledged to influence his father, then-President Joe Biden, to unfreeze $8 billion in Iranian assets in exchange for an $800 million bribe.
The judge found that Byrne’s comments went beyond protected speech and showed intent to harm Hunter Biden’s reputation. Byrne continued to stand by the allegations throughout the lawsuit, a point the judge took issue with in his ruling.
The ruling stated that defendant’s defamation went far beyond mere negligence, and that Byrne had repeatedly reposted defamatory statements across social media platforms, encouraged followers to promote them further, and restated the statements on talk shows during the litigation.
Byrne initially made the allegations in a June 2023 interview and then amplified them on social media on October 8, 2023, the day after the Hamas attacks. The clear implication of Byrne’s posts was that Plaintiff’s allegedly criminal and corrupt actions had contributed to the terrorist attacks by Hamas.
Hunter Biden’s legal team argued that these claims were baseless and designed to damage his reputation at a time when the former president’s family was under intense scrutiny over foreign business dealings.
Judge Wilson awarded the full $1.7 million in punitive damages that Hunter sought, along with $1 in nominal damages and roughly $35,000 in court sanctions against Byrne for his conduct during the litigation.
Byrne, a longtime conservative activist and vocal supporter of President Donald Trump, became the target of the lawsuit after his comments gained traction in certain circles. Hunter’s business dealings in Ukraine through Burisma, his work in China, and the contents of his abandoned laptop have led to a string of allegations that he engaged in influence peddling during his father’s time in office.
An attorney for Biden stated that the court’s ruling was a “complete vindication” for Hunter Biden against the false statements made about him by Byrne. “As found by the court, Byrne had no basis to say that Hunter had any involvement with Iran whatsoever,” the attorney added.
Byrne has not publicly responded to the judge’s ruling.
