Judge awards Hunter Biden $1.7M in defamation suit against ex-Overstock CEO
Former President Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, was ordered to be paid $1.7 million in compensation on Friday within the scope of the defamation lawsuit filed against former Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne.
Byrne, a known denier of Biden’s victory over President Trump in the 2020 presidential election, accused the younger Biden of participating in an $800 million bribery scheme involving Iran and was unable to defend his allegations in court.
U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson of the Central District of California ruled that the former manager acted with “willful misrepresentation” and “conscious disregard” of Hunter’s rights and said Byrne continued to amplify false allegations even after Hunter filed suit against him.
“The evidence here is clear and convincing. [Byrne] made a deliberate misrepresentation with conscious disregard [Hunter’s] rights,” Wilson wrote. 25 page decision. The judge added that Byrne’s “defamation went far beyond simple negligence” and that Byrne encouraged his social media followers to spread and further promote the false report.
Wilson, an appointee of former President Reagan, awarded Hunter $1.7 million in punitive damages as requested, as well as nominal damages of $1. It also ordered the former Overstock chief to pay nearly $35,000 within two weeks for previously imposed court sanctions or face an additional $1,000 penalty for each day payment is late after the deadline.
“This is complete vindication by Hunter Biden of the false statements made about him by Patrick Byrne,” said Hunter’s attorney, Bryan Sullivan. he said in a statement. “As found by the court, Byrne had no basis to say that Hunter had any involvement with Iran.”
The case stemmed from Byrne’s repeated allegations that Hunter sought bribes from Iran in exchange for persuading his father, then the president, to release $8 billion in frozen Iranian assets and ease pressure during nuclear negotiations.
The former president’s son denied the allegations and argued that the executive branch knowingly republished false allegations.
Byrne, longtime Trump ally, resigns as CEO overstock.com Following reports in 2019 of an affair with convicted Russian spy Maria Butina.
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