Hunter Biden is trying to dodge a deposition in a lawsuit involving his infamous laptop because he wants to decamp to South Africa for three months — and he’s using the LA wildfire as “an excuse,” new court papers allege.
Former Trump White House aide Garrett Ziegler — whom Hunter claimed illegally hacked his laptop and spread its embarrassing contents — is fighting the Biden scion’s request to drop a lawsuit against him.
Biden said in a filing last week that he cannot pursue the suit because he is broke due to his art no longer selling and the wildfire that made him move out of his Malibu mansion.
However, Ziegler now alleges that Hunter’s situation isn’t nearly as dire as he claims — and he really just wants to go on vacation.
He believes that Hunter has planned a three-month trip to South Africa starting this week, and that is “why he is attempting to avoid his deposition,” according to the court filing.
The filing also alleged that the trip — to the home country of Hunter’s wife Melissa Cohen — might be why Hunter’s side has “ignored” Ziegler’s overtures to start settlement talks or enter into mediation.
Ziegler’s filing said he is also “working to confirm facts published in the New York Post.” Last week, The Post exclusively revealed that Hunter’s home appeared untouched by the wildfires.
Photographs show that all of the surrounding homes were destroyed from the Palisades Fire — the most destructive in LA history — all while Hunter claimed he couldn’t afford to keeping duking it out in court with Ziegler, in part, because his home was “unlivable.”
Hunter also claimed he couldn’t get out of millions of dollars worth of debt because no one is buying his memoir or artwork now that his dad is not longer in the White House.
“We note that Mr. Biden did not expressly claim to have lost his home or belongings,” Ziegler’s lawyers wrote in papers Friday.
And while the fires were devastating for many, “It does not, however, serve as an excuse to avoid litigation responsibilities,” Holliday wrote.
Ziegler — an aide to trade adviser Peter Navarro during the first Trump administration — says the 2023 lawsuit should continue to play out in court so he can get the chance to go after Hunter for the nearly-$200,000 in legal fees he’s racked up fighting the case.
Meanwhile, Hunter’s side accused Ziegler’s lawyers of filing “emotionally charged” court papers and of “gaslighting,” in the documents.
Ziegler’s side is attempting “to downplay the impact” of the fires, Hunter’s lawyers wrote.
“Accusations that [Hunter’s] counsel is lying about the basis for his motion is despicable,” Hunter’s team charged.
Ziegler published nearly 10,000 photos from Hunter’s infamous laptop on his right-wing non-profit website Marco Polo in the years since The Post first exposed the computer in 2020.
Lawyers on both sides didn’t immediately return requests for comment Tuesday.
Read the full article here