Hunter Biden’s lawyers stepped up their legal offensive against Trump’s top allies on Friday by filing a countersuit over the alleged release of Biden’s electronic data and notifying a federal judge of their intention to seek testimony from Steve Bannon and Rudy Giuliani.
The court documents include a lawsuit directed at John Paul Mac Isaac, the owner of the computer repair shop who said Hunter Biden abandoned a water-damaged laptop at his Wilmington, Delaware, store about 18 months before the 2020 election. 2020. Biden’s lawyers allege invasion of privacy, arguing that Mac Isaac helped copy and disseminate Hunter Biden data for political and commercial purposes.
In the lawsuit, Biden seeks the return of any copies of his data, compensatory and punitive damages for Mac Isaac’s «willful, lewd, and reckless conduct,» as well as reimbursement of attorneys’ fees.
The counterclaim and responses to Mac Isaac’s original lawsuit cite public statements that Mac Isaac, Bannon, Giuliani, and others have made regarding their involvement in the Hunter Biden electronic data. The new lawsuit alleges that Delaware law did not allow Mac Isaac to access or copy the data, drawing a distinction between abandoned «equipment» and data on or embedded in a device.
Biden’s lawyers are also seeking to testify Guo Wengui, a Bannon associate who was allegedly involved in the release of Hunter Biden’s electronic data. Guo was arrested Wednesday by federal authorities in New York on charges related to what prosecutors say was a billion-dollar fraud scheme. He has pleaded not guilty.
Representatives for Mac Isaac, Giuliani, Bannon and Guo did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Hunter Biden’s legal team last month sent letters to 14 people, including Giuliani and Bannon, asking them to preserve potential evidence for future lawsuits related to the alleged theft of personal data. Letters were also sent to the Department of Justice’s homeland security division and the Delaware Attorney General’s Office, requesting investigations into “individuals whom there is substantial reason to believe violated various federal laws by accessing, copying, manipulating, and/or disseminating Mr. Biden’s personal computer. data.»
A spokesperson for Hunter Biden’s legal team did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday’s court documents, but previously told NBC News that the president’s son «has spent the last several years under extensive scrutiny and investigations.» from the media, while telling his story in a detailed memoir: he has nothing to hide. The people who have not yet been held accountable for his wrongdoing are the recipients of these letters.”
Hunter Biden and the Biden family finances are the subject of investigations led by Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, the new chairman of the GOP-led House Oversight and Accountability Committee.
Hunter Biden’s finances, specifically his tax payments to the IRS, have been under investigation by federal prosecutors in Delaware since 2018.