A federal judge in California awarded Hunter Biden $1.7 million in his defamation lawsuit against former Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne, who in 2023 accused the former president’s son of soliciting a bribe from the Iranian government.

In an interview and in posts on social media, Byrne alleged that Biden sought to secure an $800 million bribe from Iran’s government in 2021, in exchange for having his father, then-President Joe Biden, unfreeze $8 billion in funds and favor Iran in nuclear discussions.

U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson ruled against Byrne last week and formally entered the judgment Wednesday.

In his ruling, Wilson, a Reagan appointee, wrote that Byrne had “ample evidence” that his claims were false, and that “much of the narrative describing the covert meeting with an Iranian government official was fabricated.” Byrne’s claims about the meeting and communications with the Iranian government official had “internal inconsistencies and were inherently implausible,” Wilson found.

The case had initially been scheduled to go to trial in July 2025. But Byrne, the judge wrote, repeatedly failed to show up for scheduled court appearances, tried to replace his lead trial attorney with three other lawyers — one of whom was not a member of the California bar — and did not comply with court orders. After several further delays, the court granted Biden’s motion for a default judgment.

Byrne, a staunch ally of President Donald Trump, has long promoted conspiracy theories about the latter’s 2020 election loss. According to testimony from interviews conducted by a House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots, Byrne chartered private jets for those in Trump’s orbit as they worked to overturn the election results.

Byrne has not publicly addressed the judgment against him. An attorney for Byrne did not immediately respond to MS NOW’s request for comment.

Biden posted on X about the ruling earlier this week, saying that Byrne’s lies “caused real damage and endangered my family.” He also suggested Byrne “will not pay this judgment” and that he is prepared to sue again for other defamatory statements.

“His strategy is delay. Fire the lawyer. Skip the hearing. File nonsense with courts that have already ruled,” Biden wrote.

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