Hunter Biden, the son of U.S. President Joe Biden, has been facing frequent attacks from GOP rivals of his father, who accuse him of being part of an illegal scheme to use his father's power for personal gain. In response, Hunter Biden has taken a more combative approach, filing lawsuits and a congressional ethics complaint.
One of the defamation lawsuits was filed against Patrick Byrne, the former CEO of Overstock, who claimed that Hunter Biden had offered to use his father's power to do favors for Iranian officials in exchange for $800 million. Byrne, a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump, has a history of peddling conspiracy theories. Hunter Biden's attorneys argue that Byrne's accusation implied that Biden had contributed to terrorist attacks by Hamas and the deaths of innocent civilians.
In addition to the lawsuit against Byrne, Hunter Biden has filed lawsuits against Rudy Giuliani, Trump's former personal lawyer, and Garrett Ziegler, a former Trump aide. These lawsuits allege invasion of privacy after Giuliani and Ziegler acquired an old personal hard drive of Biden's that contained sexually explicit photos and personal documents, which they allegedly tampered with and paraded in the media and online. Biden has also sued the owner of the repair shop where he allegedly dropped off his laptop before its hard drive was given to Giuliani.
Furthermore, Biden's attorney filed a complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics after Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene displayed explicit photos of Biden during a committee hearing, claiming they were evidence of Biden paying for sex and writing it off on his taxes. Biden has also sued the Internal Revenue Service over accusations that staff members illegally leaked his personal financial information during media interviews.
Republicans have long accused Hunter Biden of using his father's power for financial gain through overseas business deals, but no evidence has been produced to support these claims. They have also attacked him for his struggles with drug addiction and his sexual activity. Although Biden was indicted on felony gun charges for allegedly lying on a federal firearms form and illegally owning a gun, it did not rise to the level of the accusations made by Republican adversaries.
Biden's recent aggressive strategy reportedly comes after a disagreement with White House advisers over how to defend himself against these attacks. His hiring of attorney Abbe Lowell, who filed the recent lawsuits, has driven the push for a more proactive approach in recent months.