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| Hunter Biden says he can't afford to continue laptop-related lawsuit | Hunter Biden says he can't afford to continue laptop-related lawsuit |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Hunter Biden with his wife in January, days after the Pacific Palisades fire | Hunter Biden with his wife in January, days after the Pacific Palisades fire |
| Hunter Biden has told a federal judge he is facing severe financial difficulties and cannot afford to move forward with his lawsuit against a former aide to President Donald Trump. | |
| Mr Biden sued Garrett Ziegler in 2023, accusing him and his company Marco Polo of violating state and federal laws by publishing an online database containing 128,000 emails taken from a laptop attributed to Mr Biden. Mr Ziegler has previously dismissed the lawsuit as "completely frivolous". | |
| In a court filing on Wednesday, Mr Biden's attorneys urged US District Judge Hernan D Vera to end the lawsuit, stating that he "has suffered a significant downturn in his income and has significant debt in the millions of dollars range". | |
| The son of former President Joe Biden has also faced a series of financial setbacks, with January's wildfire in the Pacific Palisades - where he was staying - making his rental home "unliveable" for an extended period. | The son of former President Joe Biden has also faced a series of financial setbacks, with January's wildfire in the Pacific Palisades - where he was staying - making his rental home "unliveable" for an extended period. |
| Along with struggling to find stable housing and deal with fire damage, Mr Biden is having difficulties earning a steady income, according to the filing, and major sources of money have dried up. | |
| Mr Biden is unable to borrow and sales of both his art and his memoir - his two major income streams - have fallen off over the last 18 months, according to the filing. | Mr Biden is unable to borrow and sales of both his art and his memoir - his two major income streams - have fallen off over the last 18 months, according to the filing. |
| He had sold 27 pieces of art for an average price of $54,500 in the years leading up to the lawsuit. He has sold only one piece for $36,000 since. | He had sold 27 pieces of art for an average price of $54,500 in the years leading up to the lawsuit. He has sold only one piece for $36,000 since. |
| Book sales for his memoir, Beautiful Things, dropped from more than 3,100 copies between April and September 2023 to roughly 1,100 in the following six months. | Book sales for his memoir, Beautiful Things, dropped from more than 3,100 copies between April and September 2023 to roughly 1,100 in the following six months. |
| Mr Biden also has other lawsuits currently working through the court system and is assessing which ones he believes are worthwhile to continue, according to the filing. | Mr Biden also has other lawsuits currently working through the court system and is assessing which ones he believes are worthwhile to continue, according to the filing. |
| Mr Biden and Mr Ziegler's legal teams have not returned the BBC's request for comment. | Mr Biden and Mr Ziegler's legal teams have not returned the BBC's request for comment. |
| The judge had previously denied a motion to dismiss from Mr Ziegler and ordered him to pay roughly $18,000 in Mr Biden's legal fees. | The judge had previously denied a motion to dismiss from Mr Ziegler and ordered him to pay roughly $18,000 in Mr Biden's legal fees. |
| A laptop abandoned by Mr Biden at a Delaware repair shop, and the seedy contents of its hard drive, featured prominently in the 2020 presidential campaign, and became a frequent focus for Republican lawmakers while his father was in the White House. | A laptop abandoned by Mr Biden at a Delaware repair shop, and the seedy contents of its hard drive, featured prominently in the 2020 presidential campaign, and became a frequent focus for Republican lawmakers while his father was in the White House. |
| The Biden team argued at the time the laptop was part of a "smear campaign" engineered by Russian disinformation, but the hard drive has been authenticated by US media and is in the possession of the FBI. | |
| Last year, Mr Biden was convicted of federal gun charges and pleaded guilty in a federal tax case. | |
| President Joe Biden pardoned him in December before his sentencing in the gun case. | President Joe Biden pardoned him in December before his sentencing in the gun case. |