Hunter Biden Sues, Alleging Rudy Giuliani Illegally Hacked His Computer Files

Lawsuit names Mr. Giuliani and another lawyer, Robert Costello, as defendants, alleging computer fraud and damage to Hunter Biden’s data

Hunter Biden arrives for a toast during an official state dinner in honor of India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House in Washington, on June 22, 2023. Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, is suing lawyer Rudy Giuliani, alleging he engaged in computer fraud relating to the laptop Hunter Biden allegedly abandoned at a Delaware computer repair shop.

The lawsuit (pdf) was filed on Tuesday in California’s central federal court district, and names Mr. Giuliani and another lawyer, Robert Costello, as defendants. Mr. Giuliani and Mr. Costello are accused of violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (18 U.S.C. § 1030), another California law pertaining to computer fraud, and a California law that prohibits false advertising—all in an effort to gain access to Mr. Biden’s computer files.

Mr. Biden’s computer data garnered widespread public attention in October of 2020, when the New York Post reported the data was found on a laptop Mr. Biden allegedly abandoned at a Delaware computer repair shop. Mr. Biden’s lawsuit disputes this abandoned laptop scenario, but does not specify exactly how Mr. Giuliani or Mr. Costello gained access to Mr. Biden’s computer files.

“Although the precise timing and manner by which Defendants obtained Plaintiff’s data remains unknown to Plaintiff, there is no dispute that Defendants have, at least to some extent, accessed, tampered with, manipulated, altered, copied and damaged Plaintiff’s data, and that their actions are illegal, unauthorized, and without Plaintiff’s consent,” the lawsuit reads.

The lawsuit argues that its claim that the defendants gained access to Mr. Biden’s computer files is corroborated by their own public statements. The lawsuit specifically alleges Mr. Costello described inputting Mr. Biden’s login credentials into his own computer during a September 2022 media interview.

“Defendants’ statements suggest that their unlawful hacking activities are ongoing today and that, unless stopped, will continue into the future, thereby necessitating this action,” the lawsuit reads.

The lawsuit further alleges Mr. Giuliani and Mr. Costello tampered with, altered, or damaged Mr. Biden’s computer data.

NTD News reached out to Mr. Giuliani and Mr. Costello for comment, but neither responded by the time this article was published.

Among the computer files the defendants say they obtained from Mr. Biden’s abandoned laptop are records detailing the president’s son’s various business dealings. These business activities have been the subject of Republican investigations, and now an impeachment inquiry, into whether then-Vice President Biden used his political access to benefit himself and his family.

Hunter Biden In Legal Battle With Delaware Shop Owner

In addition to going after Mr. Giuliani and Mr. Costello, President Biden’s son is also involved in a legal battle with John Paul Mac Isaac, the owner of the Delaware computer repair shop where Mr. Biden allegedly abandoned his laptop.

Earlier this year, Mr. Mac Isaac sued the president’s son for insinuating the allegedly defamatory claim that Mr. Mac Isaac obtained Mr. Biden’s computer files through theft or hacking, when he claimed the president’s son knew that he actually had abandoned his laptop at Mr. Mac Isaac’s computer repair shop. Mr. Mac Isaac contends that Mr. Biden signed a waiver that stated he had 90 days to collect his laptop from the computer repair shop before it would be considered “abandoned property.”

In March, the president’s son filed a counterclaim against the computer repair shop owner, arguing that “no matter how they came into his initial possession, Mac Isaac improperly accessed files that he admits were ‘none of [his] business.’” Mr. Biden’s counterclaim argues that Mr. Mac Isaac had violated his “reasonable expectation of privacy” over his data.

Mr. Biden’s new lawsuit against Mr. Giuliani and Mr. Costello includes a footnote that states his complaint is “not an admission” that Mr. Mac Isaac ever possessed any particular laptop that contained his computer data. However, Mr. Biden’s March counterclaim against Mr. Mac Isaac argues that the computer repair shop’s “abandoned property” clause was legally insufficient because of existing Delaware law.

“Contrary to Mac Isaac’s Repair Authorization form, Delaware law provides that tangible personal property is deemed abandoned when the rightful owner has left in the care or custody of another person and has failed to maintain, pay for the storage of, exercise dominion or control over, and has failed to otherwise assert or declare the ownership rights to the tangible personal property for a period of 1 year,” Mr. Biden’s March counterclaim states. “The procedure to obtain lawful title to abandoned personal property requires the person in possession of the property to file a petition in a court of competent jurisdiction ... Other obligations must then also be satisfied before obtaining lawful title, such as the court sending notice to the owner and the petitioner posting notice in five or more public places, and advertising the petition in a newspaper.”

From NTD News