A federal judge on July 11, 2026, awarded Hunter Biden $1.7 million in punitive damages in a defamation lawsuit he filed against Patrick Byrne, the former CEO of Overstock.com. Biden sued Byrne in 2023, accusing him of falsely claiming in an interview that Biden had sought an $800 million bribe from Iran's government in the fall of 2021 to lobby his father, then-US President Joe Biden, to unfreeze $8 billion in Iranian assets and ease US negotiations with Iran.

Byrne, a known ally of former President Donald Trump who denied the 2020 election results, argued that he believed the bribery claims to be true based on information from an Iranian government official. However, US District Judge Stephen Wilson of California, appointed during Ronald Reagan's presidency, found that Byrne provided no evidence of direct contact between Biden and the Iranian official and failed to present any documentary proof supporting his allegations.

The judge stated that there was "ample evidence" that Byrne knew the story was false and that much of the narrative about the covert meeting with the Iranian official was fabricated. He concluded that Byrne engaged in intentional misrepresentation with conscious disregard for Biden's rights, awarding Biden $1 in nominal damages and $1.7 million in punitive damages.

Hunter Biden's lawsuit alleged that Byrne "made, published, and repeated false and defamatory statements knowing full well that the statements are false, for the purpose of subjecting plaintiff to harassment, intimidation, and harm."