Hunter Biden has agreed to drop his civil lawsuit against Rudy Giuliani and his former lawyer Robert Costello, according to a court filing on Thursday. The lawsuit, filed last year, accused Giuliani and Costello of violating computer fraud and data access laws by manipulating data from Hunter’s devices or storage platforms.
The agreement, filed by attorneys for all three parties, states that Biden will drop the lawsuit and that each party will cover their own legal fees. The original lawsuit sought more than $75,000 in damages, as well as attorneys’ fees and other penalties.
In the September lawsuit, Biden alleged that Giuliani, his businesses, Costello, and ten unnamed individuals were primarily responsible for the “total annihilation” of Biden’s digital privacy. Biden’s attorney, Paul Salvaty, argued that the defendants had invested significant time and energy into accessing, tampering with, manipulating, copying, and disseminating data that was taken or stolen from Biden's devices or storage platforms. The lawsuit also claimed that Biden's digital data was manipulated, altered, and damaged before being sent to Giuliani and Costello.
At the time, Giuliani adviser Ted Goodman responded, stating that Hunter Biden had previously denied owning the laptop and accused Biden of falsely claiming that the laptop hard drive had been manipulated by Giuliani. Goodman highlighted the “sordid material and potential evidence of crimes” on the laptop.
The lawsuit, initially filed in the Central District of California, was later moved to the Southern District of New York.
The agreement to drop the lawsuit comes just two days after Biden was found guilty of three federal gun-related charges. He is awaiting sentencing and is scheduled to go on trial in September for separate tax-related charges.
U.S. District Judge Jessica Clarke must review and finalize Thursday's agreement.
Representatives for Biden, Giuliani, and Costello did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the court filing.
