Hunter Biden’s legal team, led by Abbe Lowell, filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit against former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and his lawyer Robert Costello. The lawsuit, initially brought by Biden, alleged that Giuliani manipulated data found on Hunter Biden’s infamous laptop. The motion was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and requests dismissal “without prejudice,” meaning it can be refiled in the future. Each party will bear its own legal costs.
During Hunter Biden’s recent gun trial, FBI agent Erika Jensen testified that the laptop in question was authentic and had not been tampered with, dispelling claims that the data was manipulated or part of a Russian disinformation campaign aimed at influencing the 2020 presidential election. This testimony undermined the basis of Biden’s lawsuit against Giuliani.
Giuliani’s lawyer, Joe Sibley, hailed the motion as proof of election interference by media and social media companies during the 2020 election. Sibley argued that these entities wrongly labeled the New York Post’s story about the laptop as “hacked” or “disinformation,” thus preventing crucial information from reaching the public. He stated that the dismissal, coupled with Hunter Biden’s conviction based on evidence from the laptop, vindicates Giuliani, Costello, and the media outlets that reported on the story.
The New York Post’s report on the laptop, which was authored by Emma-Jo Morris, faced significant pushback from mainstream media and social media platforms when it was first published in October 2020. A controversial Politico story by Natasha Bertrand, citing “dozens of former intel officials,” claimed the laptop story was part of a Russian disinformation plot. This narrative was used by then-candidate Joe Biden during a presidential debate to discredit the laptop’s contents.
Over 500 days later, many media outlets conceded that the Politico story was false. Despite this, none of the intelligence officials who signed the letter calling the laptop story “Russian disinformation” have retracted their statements, according to Fox News.