Topline
Hunter Biden, the embattled son of President Joe Biden, sued a former aide to Donald Trump, Garrett Ziegler, on Wednesday, for his alleged role in leaking the contents—including explicit photos and personal information—of a personal computer, the latest attempt by the president’s son to defend himself against incessant right-wing attacks.
President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden exits the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building in Delaware on July … [+]
Key Facts
The lawsuit, which was filed in California federal court Wednesday, accuses Ziegler and his team of “accessing, tampering with, manipulating, altering, copying and damaging computer data that they do not own” by purportedly hacking his iPhone and scouring a hard drive.
Biden and his attorneys argue this is a violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, California’s Computer Data Access and Fraud Act and California’s Unfair Competition Law.
The lawsuit describes Ziegler as “a zealot who has waged a sustained, unhinged and obsessed campaign” against the Bidens.
Biden’s attorneys are demanding a jury trial as well as damages of over $5,000 and attorneys’ fees.
Ziegler was also an aide to Peter Navarro, the former White House trade advisor under Trump who was convicted last week of contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a subpoena from the House January 6 committee.
Key Background
Biden’s laptop has been the center of a swirling controversy for several years now. In late 2020, a New York Post article claimed reporters had obtained Biden’s laptop that contained evidence of corruption within the Biden family while Joe Biden was vice president and Hunter Biden an executive at a Ukrainian corporation. But when the contents of the laptop became public, there was no conclusive evidence of wrongdoing by the Biden family. During a July congressional hearing, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) held up posters featuring blown-up photos of Biden nude and engaging in sexual activities, allegedly obtained from the laptop. On Tuesday, House Republicans, led by Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), opened an impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden related to the same allegations of corruption.
Tangent
The lawsuit acknowledges that it’s “unclear” how Ziegler obtained that laptop, but says that “there is no dispute that Defendants have, to at least some extent, accessed, tampered with, manipulated, altered, copied and damaged Plaintiff’s data.” The lawsuit specifically points to an appearance Ziegler made on Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast when he claimed to have obtained a copy of a hard drive from an associate of the since-indicted Rudy Giuliani, another Trump associate and the former president’s personal attorney.
Further Reading
Hunter Biden’s Lawyer Files Ethics Complaint Against Marjorie Taylor Greene For Showing Sexually Explicit Photos (Forbes)
House GOP Launching Impeachment Inquiry Into Joe Biden, McCarthy Says (Forbes)
Most Americans Believe Biden Meddled In His Son Hunter’s Business Dealings, Poll Finds (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/willskipworth/2023/09/13/hunter-biden-sues-former-trump-aide-over-his-alleged-role-in-laptop-leaks/