Federal Judge Awards Hunter Biden $1.7 Million in Defamation Suit.

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, alleging that Byrne made false statements that Biden had offered Iran a $800 million bribe to unfreeze $8 billion in assets and to ease U.S. policy during nuclear talks.

Byrne, a Trump supporter who denied the 2020 election results, told the court he believed the statements were true because an Iranian official had described the scheme to him, but he provided no documentary evidence.

Judge Stephen Wilson, appointed during the Reagan administration, concluded that Byrne knew the story was false and that much of the narrative was fabricated.

The judge noted that Byrne did not appear for a scheduled October trial and had dismissed his lead attorney, resulting in a default judgment.

Wilson ordered Byrne to pay $1 in nominal damages, $1.7 million in punitive damages and about $35,000 in sanctions.

In a statement to The Guardian, Biden's attorney Bryan Sullivan said the judgment confirmed that Byrne's claims of treason were fabricated and warned that further repetition would lead to additional litigation.

Attorneys representing Byrne did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The ruling comes as Hunter Biden expands his online presence with political commentary, mental health advocacy and a planned series of Substack essays, and after his father, former President Joe Biden, granted him a pardon for federal gun and tax convictions earlier in the administration.

The judgment stands pending any potential appeal.