АНУ-ын холбооны шүүх ерөнхийлөгч асан Дональд Трампыг дэмжигч, Overstock.com компанийн гүйцэтгэх захирал асан Патрик Бирнийг Хантер Байдены нэр төрд халдсан гэж үзэн 1.7 сая долларын нөхөн төлбөр гаргуулах шийдвэр гаргажээ.
Хантер Байденыг Ираны засгийн газраас 800 сая долларын хахууль авч, 8 тэрбум долларын хөрөнгийг нь царцалтнаас гаргах, цөмийн хэлэлцээрт зөөлөн байр суурь баримтлах тохиролцоо хийсэн гэж Патрик Бирн олон нийтийн сүлжээгээр удаа дараа мэдэгдсэн юм. 2023 оноос эхэлсэн шүүх хурлын явцад хариуцагч этгээд өөрийн мэдэгдлээ нотлох ямар ч баримт гаргаж өгч чадаагүй байна.
Шүүгчийн дүгнэлтэд дурдсанаар, Патрик Бирн нь тухайн мэдээллийг худал болохыг мэдсээр байж санаатайгаар тараасан нь тогтоогджээ. Тэрээр шүүхэд дуудагдсаныхаа дараа ч бусдыг уг мэдээллийг түгээхийг уриалж байсан нь хууль бус үйлдэл гэж үзсэн байна.
Хантер Байдены хуулийн багийнхан шүүхийн энэхүү шийдвэрийг үнэн зөв гарсан гэж мэдэгдэв. Өмгөөлөгч Брайан Салливаны хэлснээр, Хантер Байден нь Иран улстай ямар ч холбоогүй болох нь шүүхээр бүрэн нотлогдсон байна.
Патрик Бирн нь өмнө нь ОХУ-ын иргэн Мария Бутинатай холбоотой дуулианд нэр холбогдож, 2019 онд компанийн гүйцэтгэх захирлын албан тушаалаасаа огцорч байсан түүхтэй. Бутина нь АНУ-д гадаадын тагнуулчаар бүртгэлгүй ажилласан хэргээр ял эдэлж, эх орондоо буцсан юм.
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The son of the previous US president was awarded $1.7 million in damages in his dispute with Trump ally Patrick Byrne
A US federal judge on Friday awarded Hunter Biden $1.7 million in damages in a defamation suit against Patrick Byrne, formerOverstock.comCEO and outspoken backer of US President Donald Trump.
The lawsuit hadbeen dragging on since 2023, when Biden brought Byrne to court overrepeated claims that he sought an $800 million bribe from Iran during his father’s presidency.Byrnealleged thatin exchange for the massivepayout,Biden promisedtogetsome$8 billionin Iranian fundsunfrozen and to ensurea softer stance in nuclear talks with Tehran.
While Byrne has insisted he believed the allegations to be genuine, he failed to “provide to this court, throughout the course of litigation, any documentary evidence that could allow a reasonable person to believe the story to be true,” the judge said in his ruling. Moreover, the court found “ample evidence” indicating the defendant knew the claims were false but spread them nonetheless.
The claims disseminated by the defendant “went far beyond mere negligence,” and the former CEO acted with “intentional misrepresentation” and “conscious disregard,” continuing to spread the claims even after he was sued by Hunter and encouraging social media users to propagate them further.
“The evidence is clear and convincing that [Byrne] has engaged in intentional misrepresentation with conscious disregard towards [Biden’s] rights,” the judge wrote in the ruling, which awarded Hunter $1.7 million in punitive damages.
The legal team of the ex-president’s son hailed the ruling as a “complete vindication” for their client against the “false statements” made by Byrne. “As found by the court, Byrne had no basis to say that Hunter had any involvement with Iran whatsoever,” Hunter’s attorney Bryan Sullivan said in a statement.
Over the past years, Biden has been embroiled in assorted legal troubles and claims to have racked up a massive debt primarily stemming from court fees, even despite his father granting him a pardon for convictions on federal gun and tax charges in the last days of his presidency. Byrne is no stranger to controversy either, being one of the central figures of the scandal involving Russian gun activist Maria Butina, with whom he admitted to having an intimate relationship. Butina was ultimately convicted of “conspiring to act as an unregistered foreign agent” and expelled to Russia after serving a prison term.
The affair prompted Byrne to step down from his executive role in 2019, with the businessman focusing primarily on political activism ever since. He has strongly supported US President Trump, including by backing the allegations that the latter was cheated out of the 2020 election win, as well as bankrolling legal efforts to challenge the outcome.
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