The lawsuit cites claims Byrne made about Hunter Biden in June and October 8 of this year. In an interview published in June, Byrne accused the president’s son of contacting the Iranian government and offering to get his father to unfreeze Iranian funds. in exchange for bribes, according to the complaint.
“These defamatory statements by Byrne are not just false, they are not just malicious, they are completely outrageous,” the complaint says, later calling them “utterly outrageous.” It’s called “nonsense.”
The complaint notes that Byrne reposted the Iranian claims on X (formerly known as Twitter) a day after Hamas fighters killed more than 1,400 Israeli citizens in a brutal attack. .
“Mr. Byrne’s October 8, 2023 post suggests that Plaintiff’s alleged criminal and corrupt conduct contributed to the terrorist attack by Hamas,” the complaint added.
More than 100,000 people viewed Byrne’s posts about the president’s son and Iran, according to the complaint.
According to the complaint, Mr. Biden sent a letter to Mr. Byrne on October 26 asking him to retract his statements, but Mr. Byrne did not respond.
In the weeks after the 2020 election, Mr. Byrne promoted a conspiracy theory claiming that current President Joe Biden stole information from Mr. Trump. He attended a meeting in the Oval Office on December 18, 2020, along with attorney Sidney Powell, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. was in attendance. During the meeting, Powell asked President Trump to have the military seize voting machines.
Mr. Biden has filed a series of lawsuits in recent months, including one targeting Mr. Giuliani and the Internal Revenue Service. His lawsuit against Byrne is the first in which he alleges defamation. A lawyer for the former CEO declined to comment on the lawsuit.
