Hunter Biden fled final week to South Africa for a luxurious trip — with round the clock Secret Service safety — avoiding a grueling deposition scheduled for this week in a California lawsuit.
California District Court docket Decide Herman Vera granted Hunter’s movement to dismiss the case Thursday after the previous first son claimed he was too broke to proceed suing former Trump staffer Garrett Ziegler and his nonprofit Marco Polo.
However images present Hunter was already in Cape City the day the case was dismissed, staying in a $500-a-night beachfront villa described on its web site as an “ultra-luxurious designer home with spectacular 180 degrees unobstructed views of the sea.”
Ziegler’s attorneys alleged to the courtroom final week that Hunter had fled to South Africa to doubtlessly “avoid his deposition in this case,” which was set for this week, after initially being deliberate for February.
“He was in South Africa before the judge even decided the case,” Ziegler stated Friday. “That means he is assuming his daddy’s appointee is gonna rubber stamp what he wants.”
Hunter and his South African-born spouse Melissa Cohen have been noticed strolling across the high-end procuring district of Cape City with their Secret Service element this week in photographs offered to The Submit by impartial reporter Laura Loomer.
$200,000 in authorized prices
Ziegler will embrace the photographs in his subsequent courtroom submitting in search of $200,000 in authorized prices incurred after Hunter sued over him over Marco Polo’s digitized model of his infamous “laptop from hell.”
The scandal-prone 55-year-old son of Joe Biden doesn’t qualify for statutory Secret Service safety, which solely applies to former presidents’ kids aged below 16, per the Former Presidents Safety Act (codified in 18 USC, Part 3056).
However Biden issued an government memorandum earlier than he left the presidency indefinitely extending Secret Service safety for his son, based on Trump administration sources.
Outrage at bills
“While we can’t comment on the specifics of our protective means and methods, we can confirm Mr. Biden is an authorized protectee of the US Secret Service,” Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi advised The Submit on Friday.
Guglielmi wouldn’t affirm that 18 Secret Service brokers have traveled to Cape City with Hunter. However he stated, “Our agents are trained, authorized and mandated by federal law to provide security anywhere in the world for individuals under our protection.”
Loomer cites native sources who declare that Hunter is touring with 18 brokers — three shifts of 4 brokers plus six backup brokers — who’re staying at a close-by four-star resort, gathering per-diem funds for meals and renting two vehicles.
The price to the taxpayer doubtlessly could be a half-million {dollars}, at a time when the Secret Service is stretched skinny.
President Trump prolonged Secret Service safety to his 4 grownup kids for six months after he left workplace in 2021, prompting heavy criticism from Democrats and media retailers who complained in regards to the estimated value of $1.7 million.
Ziegler says Hunter’s Secret Service particular dispensation “should be revoked because Hunter was not completely honest with the court.”
Hunter’s attorneys advised the courtroom final week that Ziegler’s counsel Jennifer Holliday is “despicable” as a result of she questioned Hunter’s excuses for being unable to afford his authorized charges.
Hunter claimed his work have been not promoting and that his house had been rendered unlivable by the LA wildfires.
