A federal judge dismissed Hunter Biden’s lawsuit filed against a former Trump administration staffer in California after Biden requested the case end because of his financial difficulties.
U.S. district judge Hernan Vera terminated Biden’s lawsuit against Garrett Ziegler Thursday over the public database Ziegler made with emails and images from the younger Biden’s infamous laptop hard drive and iPhone server.
An appointee of Hunter Biden’s father, former President Joe Biden, Vera tossed Biden’s legal challenge with prejudice, meaning he cannot bring the lawsuit again at some point in the future
“To be clear, the Court does not express any opinion concerning the underlying merits of the case. And the Court accepts the detailed representations made by Plaintiff as to the reasons motivating his request to dismiss. But under Fed. R. Civ. P. 41, and on these facts, Plaintiff’s request to dismiss without prejudice is not warranted,” Vera said in an order.
Hunter Biden asked Vera to toss the case last week because of financial struggles due to dried up book sales and art sales starting in late 2023, when he was indicted on federal tax charges and the subject of a high-profile impeachment investigation by House Republicans. The loss of income also coincided with the collapse of Joe Biden’s political career last summer due to his advanced age and evidently declining mental faculties.
Last year, Biden’s art dealer Georges Berges testified before congressional investigators about how he ended his contract with Biden in September 2023 for business and political reasons. Berges said Biden sold approximately $1.5 million worth of art, $875,000 of which was purchased by his friend and financial benefactor Kevin Morris, a wealthy entertainment lawyer. Morris confirmed the art purchases when he testified before congress, and his lawyer subsequently disclosed to lawmakers $6.5 million of financial assistance Morris gave to Biden in the form of loan.
“While I believe in the merits of this case, and, indeed, note that Defendant Garrett Ziegler admitted to hacking my iCloud in multiple public statements, I am requesting to dismiss this action because I do not have the financial resources to continue litigating this case,” Biden said.
Hunter Biden disclosed that he sold 1,100 copies of his memoir, Beautiful Things, and one piece of art for $36,000 since late 2023. In the prior six months, Biden said he sold 36 pieces of art at an average of $54, 481 and 3,161 copies of his book.
Additionally, Biden claimed that the pacific palisades wildfires in California made his home unlivable for the time being, although it does not appear to have burned down like the other houses around it. Without listing a specific amount, Biden hinted that he has millions worth of unpaid debts, citing press reports.
Biden accused Ziegler of committing computer fraud by hacking into his devices and manipulating the data. Ziegler’s attorneys argued Biden presented no evidence to back up his allegations and was attempting to suppress Ziegler’s First Amendment rights.
Ziegler posted Biden’s data onto a website managed by his nonprofit research organization, Marco Polo, after he obtained a copy of the hard drive around the time of the 2020 election. He also compiled a 600 page report on his findings from the entirety of Hunter Biden’s laptop emails and the document has circulated among Republican lawmakers.
The New York Post first reported on the contents of Biden’s laptop leading up to the 2020 election, a story that social media platforms suppressed following an extended pressure campaign from the FBI and other intelligence agencies. The laptop contained evidence of Biden’s foreign business dealings during and after his father’s vice presidency, particularly with Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings.
Federal prosecutors used evidence from Biden’s laptop in his federal gun case last June and presented the physical version of the device during the trial. FBI special agent Erica Jensen testified for the prosecution about how the FBI obtained a copy of the laptop’s hard drive in late 2019 and verified by it cross referencing the computer with Biden’s Apple iCloud storage database. Jensen’s testimony told the same story as IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley, who came forward to the House Ways and Means Committee in spring 2023.
Hunter Biden was convicted on the gun charges and plead guilty to the federal tax charges right before his trial was set to begin last September. Special Counsel David Weiss and his team were pursuing charges against Hunter Biden for failing to pay more than $1.4 million of federal taxes over several years last decade. The tax problems for Biden happened while he was making lucrative foreign business deals and living a lavish lifestyle characterized by drug addiction and sexual deviancy.
The House GOP’s impeachment inquiry uncovered $27 million of payments to Hunter Biden and his business partners from Ukraine, China, Romania, and elsewhere during and after Joe Biden’s vice presidency. The investigation also featured whistleblower testimony and documents from Shapley and IRS whistleblower Joseph Ziegler about how Justice Department and IRS officials on the Hunter Biden tax case slow-walked and obstructed investigative steps.
Shapley and Ziegler’s role was instrumental to advancing the impeachment inquiry and to the collapse of a generous plea deal Biden and Weiss’s office agreed to in summer 2023. Weiss, the U.S. Attorney for Delaware, ultimately prosecuted Hunter Biden on the tax and gun charges after then-Attorney General Merrick Garland elevated him to special counsel to give him broader powers.
Joe Biden pardoned his before his sentencing dates in December, weeks before his presidency concluded, for any crimes he might have committed from January 1, 2014 to December 1, 2024. The sweeping pardon was widely criticized by Republicans and some Democrats.