Prosecutors in Hunter Biden’s federal gun trial intend to present materials from his widely publicized laptop.
President Joe Biden’s son faces three felony gun charges for allegedly lying about his drug addiction when purchasing a firearm in 2018.
Biden’s laptop, a source of controversy since October 2020, resurfaced when Rudy Giuliani, former President Trump’s lawyer, handed it over to the police and the New York Post just weeks before the contentious election.
The laptop has since sparked extensive House investigations into President Joe Biden. Its more scandalous contents, including explicit photos and videos of Hunter Biden, have continually fueled the controversy.
The laptop’s reemergence in court echoes the sensational stories from Trump’s hush money trial, where porn star Stormy Daniels testified about her alleged sexual encounter with Trump a decade before the 2016 election. Trump was found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal the hush money payment Daniels received to suppress the story.
Key Points About Biden’s Laptop:
Laptop Left at Repair Shop in 2019, Never Collected
John Paul Mac Isaac, owner of The Mac Shop in Wilmington, Delaware, reported that a man identifying himself as Hunter Biden brought in three liquid-damaged laptops in April 2019. One laptop was left behind. Mac Isaac said he handed it over to Robert Costello, Giuliani’s lawyer, believing it would offer him protection.
Giuliani, seeking damaging information against Biden’s presidential campaign, shared the laptop’s contents with the New York Post and local authorities.
Laptop Contents Fueled Ukraine Interference Conspiracy
Materials from the laptop were used to support a conspiracy theory Giuliani had been promoting. The largely debunked story claimed Joe Biden, as vice president, intervened in Ukraine to benefit Hunter Biden, who served on the board of the Ukrainian energy company Burisma. The conspiracy suggested Joe Biden sought to oust a Ukrainian prosecutor to prevent an investigation into Burisma.
The laptop leak included an email purportedly from a Burisma adviser thanking Hunter Biden for arranging a meeting with Joe Biden during his vice presidency in the Obama administration.
Information from the laptop also contributed to impeachment inquiries against President Biden, although committees have yet to find any wrongdoing. The White House has dismissed these investigations as partisan attacks.
Intimate Images Released from Hunter Biden’s Laptop
The laptop breach also exposed photos of Hunter Biden using drugs, naked, and engaged in intimate activities with other adults. In July 2023, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., displayed sexually explicit photos of Biden during a House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing.
Ongoing Lawsuits Centered on the Laptop
Since the laptop’s contents were made public, Hunter Biden has filed several lawsuits against those involved.
In September 2023, Biden sued Giuliani and Costello for allegedly copying, manipulating, and distributing the records, resulting in a “total annihilation” of his privacy.
Biden and the computer repair shop owner, Mac Isaac, are also involved in dueling lawsuits. Biden claims Mac Isaac invaded his privacy, while Mac Isaac alleges Biden, along with media outlets CNN and Politico, defamed him by suggesting the leaked laptop material was part of a Russian effort to interfere in the 2020 election.
In February, both parties argued before a judge that their legal claims should be resolved without a trial. The ruling on this matter is still pending.
