CALIFORNIA — U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson awarded Hunter Biden $1 in nominal damages and $1.7 million in punitive damages in a defamation lawsuit against Patrick Byrne. The ruling followed Wilson’s finding that Byrne had knowingly spread false claims accusing Biden of seeking an $800 million bribe from Iran.

Wilson also ordered Byrne to pay approximately $35,000 in court sanctions. The judge found Byrne in default after he failed to appear for a jury trial scheduled for October and fired his lead trial attorney. In his ruling, Wilson wrote that Byrne engaged in intentional misrepresentation with conscious disregard for Hunter Biden’s rights.

The lawsuit, filed by Hunter Biden in 2023, accused Byrne of making defamatory statements in an interview claiming that Biden sought a bribe from Iran’s government in the fall of 2021. According to the complaint, Byrne alleged that Hunter Biden had offered to lobby President Joe Biden to unfreeze $8 billion in Iranian assets and ensure the U.S. would go easy on Iran during nuclear talks in exchange for the bribe.

Wilson wrote that there was ample evidence showing Byrne knew the bribery story was false and that much of the narrative about a meeting with an Iranian official was fabricated. Although Byrne told the court he believed his statements were true because an Iranian government official had described the alleged scheme, Wilson noted that Byrne did not claim the official had direct contact with Hunter Biden. The judge also found that Byrne failed to provide any documentary evidence that would allow a reasonable person to believe the story was true.

Bryan Sullivan, an attorney for Hunter Biden, stated that Byrne had effectively accused his client of treason. “The judgment is $1.7m in punitive damages, and it is the floor, not the ceiling, of what Mr Byrne owes for his conduct,” Sullivan said. He added, “If Mr Byrne chooses to repeat any of it, we will be back in court.”

Why It Matters

The judgment underscores the legal consequences for spreading knowingly false allegations about public figures, particularly when those claims involve serious accusations like soliciting foreign bribes. Patrick Byrne, the former CEO of Overstock.com and a known promoter of conspiracy theories, faces both financial penalties and court sanctions for his conduct during the litigation.