A federal judge on Friday awarded Hunter Biden $1.7 million in punitive damages in a defamation lawsuit he filed against former Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne.
Biden sued Byrne in 2023, accusing the Trump ally of lying in an interview that Biden had previously sought a bribe from Iran’s government in the fall of 2021. Joe Biden was the US president at the time.
Byrne lied that Hunter Biden had offered to go to his father, have him “unfreeze” $8 billion in frozen Iranian assets, and ensure the US would “go easy” on Iran during nuclear talks — all in exchange for an $800 million bribe, according to the lawsuit.
US District Judge Stephen Wilson found that Byrne had “engaged in intentional misrepresentation with conscious disregard towards plaintiff’s rights.” The judge awarded Biden $1 in nominal damages along with $1.7 million in punitive damages and about $35,000 in court sanctions.
The Judge’s Findings
Byrne, a Donald Trump ally who denied the results of the 2020 election and funded efforts to overturn them, disputed that he made the statements with “actual malice.” He told the court he believed the statements to be true because he had been told about the alleged scheme by an Iranian official.
But Wilson, a Reagan appointee, wrote that Byrne did not allege that the Iranian official had claimed direct contact with Biden or provide any evidence supporting his claims. The judge said the court found “ample evidence” that Byrne “knew the story to be false, and much of the narrative describing the covert meeting with an Iranian government official was fabricated.”
Byrne’s Failure to Appear
The case was scheduled for a jury trial in October. However, Byrne “failed to appear” for the proceeding and fired his lead trial attorney, delaying the proceedings “at the expense” of Biden and the court.
Wilson found Byrne to be in default as a sanction for what the judge described as “repeated, intentional disobedience of court orders and unceasing efforts to delay proceedings.”
Biden’s Attorney Responds
In a statement to the Guardian, Biden’s attorney, Bryan Sullivan, said Byrne had effectively accused his client of “treason” — and now a judge had “found that every one of those claims was fabricated.”
“The judgment is $1.7 million in punitive damages, and it is the floor, not the ceiling, of what Mr Byrne owes for his conduct,” Sullivan added. “If Mr Byrne chooses to repeat any of it, we will be back in court.”
The Broader Context
The ruling comes at a time when Hunter Biden has been building an online following through social media posts covering politics, mental health, and addiction recovery. He also announced that he will be publishing a series of essays on the Substack platform.
The ruling also came after his father, in the waning days of his presidency, issued him a pardon for convictions on federal gun and tax charges.
The Bottom Line
Hunter Biden won $1.7 million in a defamation lawsuit against former Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne over false claims that Biden sought a bribe from Iran. A federal judge found Byrne had fabricated the story and engaged in intentional misrepresentation. Byrne failed to appear for trial and was found in default. Biden’s attorney said the judgment is “the floor, not the ceiling” of what Byrne owes.
