Hunter Biden Scores $1.7 Million in Damages From Former Overstock CEO in Defamation Case

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: MEDIAite

Jul 10th, 2026, 11:15 pm


A federal judge in Los Angeles awarded $1.7 million in punitive damages to Hunter Biden on Friday as part of a defamation case against Patrick Byrne, the former CEO of Overstock.com.

Byrne claimed in 2023 that Biden pledged to get his father, then-President Joe Biden, to unfreeze $8 billion in Iranian assets in exchange for an $800 million bribe. The younger Biden’s lawsuit says Byrne made this claim in an interview in June of that year, and again in a social media post the day after the Oct. 7 attacks.

“The clear implication of Byrne’s October 8, 2023 posts was that Plaintiff’s allegedly criminal and corrupt actions had contributed to the terrorist attacks by Hamas,” the complaint stated. On Friday, Judge Stephen Wilson of the Central District of California issued a ruling awarding Hunter Biden punitive damages:

Here, the evidence is clear and convincing that defendant has engaged in intentional misrepresentation with conscious disregard towards plaintiff’s rights. Defendant’s defamation went far beyond mere negligence. In fact, defendant has admitted that after the offending article was published, defendant repeatedly reposted the article across social media platforms and encouraged his followers on those platforms to promote it further. In fact, during the pendency of this litigation, even while Defendant was defying the Court’s orders and failing to appear at hearings, Defendant appeared on talk shows and restated the same defamatory statements at issue in the case.

Read more: https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/hunter-biden-scores-1-7-million-in-damages-from-former-overstock-ceo-in-defamation-case/

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Link to ORDER (PDF) - https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/biden-byrne-punitive-damages.pdf

[rubbersole]

2. Should have been 10 times that much.

Then donate it to a children's charity.

[niyad]

11. Why should he donate it? And why to a children's charity specifically?

[MichMan]

13. I believe he still owes his lawyers quite a bit in legal fees

Along with the money he borrowed to pay the IRS what he owed.

[ShazzieB]

25. That makes no sense to me.

Should it be more? That I could get on board for. But no matter the amount, Hunter Biden is entitled to every penny that's left after his lawyers and the IRS get paid. The money that was awarded to him by the court was the outcome of a personal defamation suit between him and a person who repeatedly defamed him. He is NOT obligated to share it with anyone else.

He's a private citizen, not a shady politician or some disgusting billionaire who's getting richer every minute like some people we could name. (I don't know what his net worth is, but I'd be willing to bet he's a long way from that.) This is a guy who has made some mistakes in his life but has cleaned up his act.... and has stayed that way while being dragged through the mud too many times to count, for no reason except who his father is. He deserves this settlement and then some.

[Bluetus]

28. Money equals speech

[Henry203]

3. Defendant had a fool for a client

This idiot represented himself.

[SouthBayDem]

15. And a possible Russian asset

Byrne, 63, resigned as Overstock.com’s CEO in 2019 after a reported relationship with convicted Russian spy Maria Butina. He later became involved in efforts to challenge the legitimacy of President Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss.

https://www.courthousenews.com/hunter-biden-wins-1-7-million-in-punitive-damages-against-patrick-byrne/

[yardwork]

16. Russian connections to the Oct 7 Hamas attack keep popping up.

[PatSeg]

4. These people think they can do anything

and there will never be any repercussions whatsoever. That is the kind of thinking that comes from having too much money and power.

Good for Hunter, he deserves this.

[SSJVegeta]

5. Well deserved

[Baitball Blogger]

6. You go, Hunter!

Don't stop there. Think of what the right-wing lying machine put you through. Someone has to stand up to them.

[ToxMarz]

7. That Trump bootlicker learned the one rule of Trump bootlicking

Everything Trump touches, dies.

[50 Shades Of Blue]

8. Much needed good news!

[live love laugh]

9. He's worth $70m this is inconsequential for him.

[niyad]

12. Monetarily inconsequential, perhaps, but his ego is bruised.

[ShazzieB]

26. The amount of the settlement in comparison to his net worth is completely beside the point.

In fact it's not even beside the point; it's lightyears away from it.

[kimbutgar]

10. When I found out that Byrne guy was a maga I stopped buying from Overstock

I’m glad Hunter got his justice for the lying defamation against him!

[Bengus81]

20. We can change alot of things if Dems would boycott these Trump humping

NAZI run businesses.

Paramount+ should be on every Democrat list to shit can if they care about Media that isn't State run. It's on mine come Sept after a dozen years or more.

[Felicita]

21. So true, boycott the Nazi run businesses as much as possible

I dropped Directv 3 years ago and just use an antenna so as not to support Faux News and other right wing bs channels, which is what you do with all the "package" cable and streaming services. And no Amazon for over 18 months- thought it would be harder than it was. Etsy, eBay, Chewy, some specialty online businesses, plus good ol' fashioned brick and mortar stores (no Home Depot, no Hobby Lobby, etc.) are working fine. Credo mobile for my phone service for over 20 years-they donate a percent of profits to progressive causes and the tech and sales services are great.

[kimbutgar]

23. Ditto

My husband likes streaming from Amazon so I still have it but haven't brought anything from the site since November 2024. And only buy ftom sellers on Ebay from blue states.

[Bengus81]

24. True...most don't realize just how much you can get on your own antenna

Some won't live close enough for them to work but I can pick up dozens of channels with not that great of an antenna. I ditched cable at least ten years ago,maybe longer.

[SouthBayDem]

14. This ruling comes from a conservative judge

Wilson, Stephen Victor
Born 1941 in New York, NY

Federal Judicial Service:
Judge, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
Nominated by Ronald Reagan on September 9, 1985, to a new seat authorized by 98 Stat. 333. Confirmed by the Senate on October 16, 1985, and commission issued on October 17, 1985.

https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/wilson-stephen-victor

[AloeVera]

17. Should have been $800 million. nt

[Solly Mack]

18. He didn't "score". He was awarded the money for punitive damages.

[Bayard]

19. I am happy for Hunter,

But this will be appealed right on up the food chain.

[FakeNoose]

22. Obviously Patrick Byrne never paid Hunter Biden a bribe of any kind

If he had, he would have shown it as proof and Biden would never have sued him.

The Repukes are so damn stupid! Byrne should enjoy paying this fine of $1.7 million and he can call it a "bargain."

[Beartracks]

27. Defying court orders? Failing to appear at hearings? Continuing to spread defamatory lies?

A nation of laws calls it illegal; Republicans just call it "Tuesday."

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