Hunter Biden is asking a federal judge to let him keep the $1.7 million he won in a defamation lawsuit against Overstock.com founder Patrick Byrne, rather than hand it over to the law firm that once represented him, according to court filings reported by The Daily Wire.
The firm, Winston Taylor LLP, filed a notice of lien against Biden, claiming he still owes millions in unpaid legal fees for work spanning the Byrne case, congressional investigations, and his felony prosecutions. If enforced, the lien would direct any payout from the judgment first to the firm.
Biden’s current attorney, Brian Sullivan, filed paperwork Thursday to strike the lien, arguing it is legally deficient. Among his claims: the contract Biden signed failed to adequately explain the consequences of a lien—an argument that carries a certain irony, since Biden himself is a licensed attorney.
A Judgment in Default, and an Appeal
The underlying $1.7 million defamation judgment was awarded by default after Byrne did not appear to defend himself. Byrne is now appealing, and has posted a $2.1 million bond to guarantee he can pay if he loses.
But even with that money theoretically within reach, Biden appears unwilling to use it to settle with Winston Taylor—despite his own public statements that he would pay if he came into a sizable sum.
Sullivan told The Daily Wire that Winston Taylor took on Biden’s representation with full knowledge of his financial situation. “They took the case on knowing that he wasn’t able to pay them. They knew that was the situation,” Sullivan said. “If he came into a sizable amount of money he always said he would pay, but they took it on with that risk.”
He added that Biden had hoped to establish a legal defense fund to cover costs, but the effort fell short. Sullivan compared the situation to the stalled demand for Biden’s paintings, saying the pool of donors willing to write checks for Hunter Biden has dried up now that his father is no longer in the Oval Office.
Winston Taylor’s Allegations
Winston Taylor is separately suing Biden in D.C. court for millions in fees. In court filings this year, the firm accused Biden of destroying evidence, being “evasive,” and making “invalid excuses.”
Biden has testified that he cannot pay: “I don’t have any assets. I don’t own a car. I don’t own a phone.”
Winston Taylor’s former lead attorney on Biden’s matters was Abbe Lowell, a well-connected Democratic lawyer who has represented figures including former Sen. Bob Menendez and lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Lowell has since left Winston Taylor—a departure Sullivan suggested may leave Biden feeling less pressure to pay the firm.
“It’s not Abbe Lowell’s lien,” Sullivan told The Daily Wire. “Abbe hasn’t been there for a year and a half. We have a great relationship with Abbe.”
Neither Lowell nor Winston Taylor LLP responded to requests for comment.
A Personal Stake for Sullivan
Sullivan’s push to strike the lien is not purely about protecting Biden’s interests. He acknowledged that if Winston Taylor’s claim succeeds, the entire defamation judgment could be consumed by the old firm’s fees, leaving nothing for his own more recent work on the case. In that sense, the two lawyers’ interests are aligned—at least for now.
The dispute plays out against a broader media tour in which Biden, who says he has been sober for years, is attempting to reintroduce himself to the public as a changed man. Materials from his infamous laptop, however, have shown him routinely appearing to scheme to cut others out of money while spending lavishly on himself—a contrast his critics are likely to highlight as he fights to keep the seven-figure judgment out of his former lawyers’ hands.
Source: www.dailywire.com — https://www.dailywire.com/news/penniless-hunter-biden-fights-ex-lawyers-for-1-7-million-defamation-win