Hunter Biden, son of former President Joe Biden, has asked a judge to dismiss his lawsuit against former Trump aide Garrett Ziegler, citing financial hardship and “millions of dollars” in debt after losing his home in the Los Angeles wildfires.
Quick Takes
- Hunter Biden’s legal team filed to drop his laptop lawsuit due to his “significant debt in the millions of dollars range” and inability to fund ongoing litigation.
- The lawsuit, initially filed in September 2023, targeted former Trump aide Garrett Ziegler for allegedly accessing and distributing contents from Biden’s laptop.
- Biden’s financial troubles stem from the Pacific Palisades wildfires that rendered his rental home “unlivable,” plummeting art sales, and poor book performance.
- His income has “decreased significantly” with art sales dropping to just one piece at $36,000 after previously selling 27 pieces at an average of $54,481 each.
- Biden is reassessing all pending lawsuits to better manage his limited financial resources while struggling to find both new housing and employment.
Financial Collapse Forces Legal Retreat
Hunter Biden’s legal team has formally requested the dismissal of his lawsuit against former Trump White House aide Garrett Ziegler, citing financial devastation that makes continued litigation impossible. Court documents filed by Biden’s attorneys reveal he “has suffered a significant downturn in his income and has significant debt in the millions of dollars range.” The lawsuit, originally filed in September 2023 in Los Angeles, targeted Ziegler for allegedly illegally accessing and distributing contents from Biden’s infamous laptop through an online database containing approximately 128,000 emails.
JUST IN: Hunter Biden asks judge to drop his laptop lawsuit, claiming he's "millions in debt"—worsened by LA wildfires.
In court filings, he blames dwindling art and book sales for his financial woes, saying his rented home became "unlivable."
The lawsuit targeted Trump aide… pic.twitter.com/vUCQJlhdIB
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) March 6, 2025
The legal action against Ziegler had shown initial promise for Biden when the judge rejected Ziegler’s motion to dismiss and ordered him to pay $18,000 for Biden’s legal fees. However, the president’s son now finds himself in dire financial straits, with his legal team stating he “does not have the resources to continue to litigate this matter.” This request for dismissal represents a significant reversal in Biden’s aggressive legal strategy against those he claims illegally accessed his personal data.
Wildfire Destruction and Collapsed Income
Biden’s financial crisis stems partly from recent Pacific Palisades wildfires that rendered his rented Los Angeles home “unlivable.” The disaster has left the president’s son struggling to secure stable housing. “Like many others in that situation, I am having difficulty in finding a new permanent place to live,” Biden stated in court documents. This housing instability compounds his already precarious financial position as his various income streams have dried up simultaneously.
Adding to his woes, art sales, previously a significant revenue stream for Biden, have collapsed dramatically. After selling 27 pieces at an average price of $54,481.48 each, he has sold just one piece for $36,000 in recent months. His memoir sales have similarly plummeted, with only 1,100 copies sold in the most recent six-month period compared to 3,161 in the previous reporting window. Expected paid speaking engagements following his book’s publication failed to materialize despite what his team described as a positive reception.
Legal Challenges and Strategic Reassessment
Biden’s request to dismiss the Ziegler lawsuit comes amid broader legal challenges for the former president’s son. He was previously found guilty on federal gun charges and pleaded guilty in a separate federal tax case, though he received a pardon from his father.
Ziegler, the defendant in the case, had previously dismissed Biden’s lawsuit as “completely frivolous” before the judge ruled against his motion to dismiss. Court documents indicate Biden is now reassessing all pending lawsuits to allocate his limited financial resources more effectively. The motion to dismiss represents a strategic retreat from civil litigation to focus on more pressing legal and financial concerns, including finding stable housing and new employment opportunities to address his substantial debt burden.
Sources:
- Hunter Biden’s financial woes revealed in new motion to drop lawsuit: ‘Significant debt’
- Hunter Biden cites financial woes in request for federal judge to dismiss laptop data case
- Broke Hunter Biden asks judge to toss laptop suit because he’s ‘millions’ in debt — and lost home in LA wildfires
