Hunter Biden is suing Delaware computer shop owner for invasion of privacy over the now infamous laptop that leaked embarrassing information about the president’s son ahead of the 2020 election.
In the lawsuit, filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Delaware, Hunter Biden’s legal team accused store owner John Paul Mac Isaac of committing a politically motivated invasion of his customer’s privacy by handing over the abandoned laptop to a third party and eventually putting to it have it in the hands of news reporters.
“Mac Isaac intended and clearly knew or should have known that people to whom he provided the data he believed belonged to Mr. Biden were using it against then-candidate Joseph Biden and in support of then-President Trump would,” the attorneys wrote in the case.
The lawsuit was a counterclaim in response to a previous case by Mr Mac Isaac alleging he had been defamed by Hunter Biden’s claims that he illegally accessed the data on the laptop.
Mr Mac Isaac’s lawyer, Ronald Poliquin, said Friday his legal team is still reviewing the counterclaim and will respond in court.
In addition to Hunter Biden, Mr. Mac Isaac’s defamation case also names CNN, Politico, Rep. Adam Schiff, the California Democrat and President Biden’s campaign as defendants.
Mr Mac Isaac claims Hunter Biden left his computer for more than 90 days, after which the mechanic argues it has legally become his property.
In their 42-page filing Friday, Hunter Biden’s attorneys say Mr. Mac Isaac in his book claimed he accessed the data before the 90-day window expired, raising questions about whether Mr. Bided signed an authorization agreement that Mr Mac Isaac says gave him rightful possession of the laptop.
They also argue that under Delaware law, in order for Mr. Mac Isaac to legally obtain possession of the computer, he would have to file a petition in court after having had it in his possession for a year.
The extensive filing also details the alleged steps Mr. Mac Isaac took to distribute copies of the laptop data to members of his family and political agents, who eventually leaked the contents to the New York Post.
According to the filing, in September 2019, Mr. Mac Isaac shipped a hard drive containing the laptop’s data to his father Richard Mac Isaac in New Mexico in a stuffed animal for safe keeping.
He also sent a copy of the contents to his uncle, Ronald J. Scott Jr., who allegedly sent the data to journalists and Republican congressmen.
In August 2020, Mr. Mac Isaac contacted Robert Costello, an attorney for President Trump’s attorney Rudolph W. Giuliani, regarding the data.
“Mr. Biden has not granted any of the individuals identified in this counterclaim permission to access, copy, distribute, post, or otherwise distribute his data, however obtained their possession,” the statement reads the file.
On October 14, 2020, just weeks before the presidential election, the New York Post ran a report exposing the laptop after receiving a copy of the data given to Mr. Costello.
The Post’s report triggered an avalanche of embarrassing emails, photos and text messages from the laptop. It revealed details about Hunter Biden’s addiction struggles and his hugely profitable overseas deals, which critics say are having an impact.
The emails also refuted President Biden’s claims that he had never spoken to his son about doing business abroad.
The laptop has also provided a wealth of evidence for Republicans in Congress who have pledged to investigate whether the elderly Mr. Biden was involved in his son’s overseas business deals and possibly influence activities.
The Biden campaign dismissed the content as Russian disinformation, a theory also floated in an open letter from 51 former intelligence officials.
The White House has continued to deny the authenticity of the laptop, which has been widely confirmed by several news outlets.
Last month, Hunter Biden’s legal team asked the Delaware Department of Justice and Attorney General to investigate the leak of the laptop’s contents.
Still, Abbe Lowell, a senior attorney on Hunter Biden’s team, denied that the letters confirmed the authenticity of the material discovered on the hard drive.
“These letters do not corroborate versions of a so-called laptop by Mac Isaac or others,” Abbe Lowell told Fox News Digital last month. “They address their behavior of seeking, manipulating and disseminating what they call Mr. Biden’s personal data, wherever they claim to have gotten it.”
Source : www.washingtontimes.com