Politics
exclusive
Former Hunter Biden business partner Tony Bobulinski is suing ex-Trump aide Cassidy Hutchinson for implying he was involved in a “shady business dealing” with then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows before the 2020 election, The Post has exclusively learned.
Attorneys for Bobulinski filed a defamation lawsuit in Georgia federal court Monday, alleging Hutchinson “chose to viciously defame” the “decorated Navy veteran” in her 2023 tell-all book about her time as Meadows’ assistant.
The suit accuses Hutchinson of lying about a meeting between Bobulinski and Meadows at a Trump campaign rally in Rome, Ga., on Nov. 1, 2020, “dishonestly portraying it to be unethical and, possibly, illegal.”
It asks for a retraction and an award of $10 million in damages for harming Bobulinski’s reputation and making him fear for his personal safety.
Hutchinson, a star witness for the House select committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, made headlines in June 2022 when she claimed President Donald Trump tried to grab the steering wheel of his SUV and drive up to join his supporters at the Capitol.
That purported incident, which Hutchinson said was relayed to her by a White House official, was disputed by the official, a Secret Service agent in the SUV at the time, and the driver.
Bobulinski’s attorneys said their client was willing to forgo any money if she donated 20% of her book advance to a children’s hospital.
“In the shadows of the bleachers, I observed Mark and Tony Bobulinski’s interaction through a gap in the vehicles,” Hutchinson wrote in her book “Enough,” claiming the latter was wearing a “ski mask” to hide his identity.
“When they said their goodbyes, I saw Mark hand Tony what appeared to be a folded sheet of paper or a small envelope. Mark walked toward me, staring at the ground,” she says of the interaction, book excerpts included in the suit show.
Bobulinski had been a guest of Trump weeks earlier at his second and final debate against Joe Biden, after Bobulinski claimed the Democratic nominee had lied about involvement in his son Hunter’s overseas business.
On Feb. 13, Bobulinski testified before the House Oversight Committee that Hutchinson’s retelling of the meeting was false. Meadows did not hand him anything, he said, and he was not wearing a ski mask.
“Mr. Bobulinski met with Mr. Meadows because Mr. Bobulinski was experiencing death threats and Mr. Meadows wanted to check on his well-being,” the Navy veteran’s attorneys wrote in their suit. “The meeting was utterly innocuous.”
Hutchinson’s attorneys previously shared a picture that their client snapped of the two huddling behind a car at the rally, with Bobulinski wearing what his attorneys now say was a neck gaiter due to COVID-19 pandemic precautions.
First son Hunter Biden also trumpeted Hutchinson’s claims during his Feb. 28 deposition by the Oversight panel and accused Bobulinski of “trying to promote the idea” that his father was “going to be involved” in a Chinese energy deal that yielded over $6 million to himself and first brother James Biden.
“Tony is a bitter, bitter man that did not get in on a deal that he wanted to get in on, because I thought that he was both incompetent and an idiot,” Hunter told lawmakers, adding that Bobulinski was “out of his mind” for suggesting Joe Biden was involved.
Bobulinski was the first former business partner of Hunter to come forward in October 2020 with allegations that the president was aware of his son’s lucrative business deal with a Chinese government-linked energy firm.
“For nearly four years, I have tried to tell the American people the truth about serious corruption at the very top of their government,” he told the House Oversight Committee last month.
“It is clear to me that Joe Biden was ‘the Brand’ being sold by the Biden family.”
Bobulinski also said he had “a fully prepared lawsuit” he “could file tomorrow suing both Hunter and Jim Biden for defrauding” him as part of the deal.
“If you guys do your job, I should not have to file that lawsuit,” he added, saying any money won from it would be donated to a children’s hospital.
Bobulinski’s lawyers say their client “put his country above politics” by revealing his knowledge of the first son’s business dealings.
Hutchinson is a resident of DC, but the complaint was filed in US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, where she wrote and published the memoir and the incident recounted took place.
Her attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
