Melissa Cohen Biden, the wife of Hunter Biden, confronted and verbally attacked Garrett Ziegler, a former Trump White House aide, during a Tuesday appearance at a court hearing. Hunter Biden is currently facing three felony charges related to a 2018 firearm purchase.
Biden’s wife approached Ziegler, who was sued by Hunter Biden last year for publishing the contents of his infamous laptop, and pointed her finger at him. She accused Ziegler of being a Nazi and told him he had no right to be present. Ziegler, who leads the nonprofit group Marco Polo, did not respond to Melissa Biden’s remarks at the time.
Ziegler later confirmed the encounter, which was initially reported by NBC News. He stated that he had not approached or spoken to the Biden family throughout the proceedings. Ziegler also denied the Nazi label used by Melissa Biden, emphasizing his belief in the U.S. Constitution.
Marco Polo, in a tweet, criticized Melissa Biden’s behavior and accused her of lacking impulse control. The group maintained that Hunter Biden’s lawsuit against Ziegler was an attempt to silence opposition and characterized the Bidens as “truly contemptible liars & scoundrels.”
Biden’s lawsuit alleges that Ziegler violated federal computer laws by accessing and manipulating data from the laptop, which was left at a Delaware repair shop in 2019. Ziegler has claimed that his actions were part of a legitimate investigation into alleged corruption involving Hunter Biden and his father, President Biden.
Ziegler’s attorney has requested that a judge appointed by President Biden be removed from the case, citing concerns about impartiality. The lawsuit has implications for the congressional impeachment inquiry and the 2024 election.
In March, Ziegler sought to have the judge removed from the case, arguing that his impartiality could be reasonably questioned because he had donated to Joe Biden’s presidential campaign in 2020 and was appointed by President Biden shortly before the lawsuit was filed.
The judge has not yet ruled on Ziegler’s request for recusal.
Hunter Biden’s lawsuit against Ziegler is based on the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and California’s Comprehensive Computer Data Access and Fraud Act. Ziegler’s attorney argues that his client and associates prepared a credible investigative report based on copies of files from the laptop that had already been widely circulated to media outlets. The report, titled “Report on the Biden Laptop,” alleges instances of foreign compromise by Hunter Biden and his father, President Biden.
The repair shop owner turned the laptop over to the FBI in October 2019 after discovering “disturbing materials” on it, according to Ziegler’s motion. The motion also states that Ziegler’s website with the Biden laptop report has been accessed by over 5 million Americans since its inception in June 2023, and more than 8 million Americans have accessed the free digital version of the report made available in November 2022.
