Hunter Biden Awarded $1.7M in Defamation Case

Hunter Biden just scored a $1.7 million courtroom win against a prominent Trump ally. As the Guardian reports, a federal judge in California ruled Friday that former Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne defamed Biden by claiming he tried to broker an $800 million bribe from Iran in 2021 to influence US policy and free up frozen Iranian funds. Per Biden's complaint, Byrne "made, published, and repeated false and defamatory statements knowing full well that the statements are false, for the purpose of subjecting plaintiff to harassment, intimidation, and harm."

US District Judge Stephen Wilson found Byrne offered no credible evidence for the allegations and cited "ample evidence" that Byrne knew the story was false and had fabricated parts of it. "Here, the evidence is clear and convincing that defendant has engaged in intentional misrepresentation with conscious disregard towards plaintiff's rights," Wilson said, per Courthouse News. Byrne failed to appear for the planned October jury trial and was found in default after what the judge called repeated attempts to stall the case. Biden was awarded $1 in nominal damages, $1.7 million in punitive damages, and about $35,000 in sanctions; Byrne's attorneys did not respond to requests for comment.