Tony Bobulinski, a former associate of Hunter Biden, has filed a $30 million defamation lawsuit against Fox News host Jessica Tarlov. The lawsuit stems from comments made by Tarlov regarding Bobulinski’s legal fees. However, Tarlov later corrected her statement a day after making it.
A lawsuit was filed on Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, accusing Tarlov of lying about Bobulinski’s legal fees being paid by a Trump super PAC. Tarlov made these false statements during a discussion on Fox News’s “The Five” following Bobulinski’s testimony before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee for the impeachment inquiry into President Biden.
Tarlov received a letter from Bobulinski’s attorney the next day, requesting a retraction and apology. In response, Tarlov clarified her previous remarks during the broadcast. She stated that the law firm representing Mr. Bobulinski had received payments from a Trump PAC. However, she emphasized that there was no evidence to suggest that these payments were related to Bobulinski’s legal fees. Bobulinski himself denies any connection between the payments and his legal expenses.
Fox News spokesperson confirmed on Thursday that Tarlov’s clarification was correct and emphasized that the host had no knowledge of any connection between payments from a Trump PAC and Bobulinski’s legal fees.
A spokesperson for Fox News responded to Jessica Tarlov’s statements on March 21st, affirming their accuracy and clarification that she was unaware of any evidence linking payments from a Trump PAC to Elections, LLC with Tony Bobulinski’s legal fees. The spokesperson stated, “We stand by our choice to refrain from issuing additional corrections and will vigorously defend ourselves against these inaccurate allegations.”
According to Bobulinski’s lawyers, Tarlov’s initial comment was aimed at grabbing media attention and boosting ratings. They claimed that Tarlov’s statement, where she stated that Bobulinski’s lawyers’ fees were paid by a Trump super PAC as recently as January, was made with the intention of creating sensational headlines.
In the lawsuit, Bobulinski’s lawyers argue that the comment made by the anonymous source “deliberately besmirched” Bobulinski and Passantino’s character. They claim that this comment was an attempt to discredit Bobulinski’s previous testimony before the Oversight Committee.
In a second letter to the host, the lawyers contended that Tarlov’s on-air clarification was not a sufficient “complete retraction and apology,” deeming it as “half-hearted, incomplete, and unacceptable.”
Bobulinski had a short stint working alongside Hunter Biden, although they were unable to finalize the deal they were working on together. As a crucial witness for the GOP, Bobulinski linked the president to his son’s business by asserting that the president was the undisclosed “big guy” mentioned in their email exchanges regarding the allocation of funds from a Chinese company.
Bobulinski eventually joined forces with supporters of former President Trump, while Passantino, a former White House lawyer who represented several Trump White House aides before the House Jan. 6 committee, had ties to law firms that received over $1 million from Trump-affiliated PACs in 2022.
Mr. Passantino’s lawyers stated in the lawsuit that he was paid exclusively by Mr. Bobulinski for his previous representation, just like his representation on March 20, 2024. They emphasized that no third parties have ever contributed to Mr. Passantino’s representation of Mr. Bobulinski.
Bobulinski’s legal team is seeking $30 million in damages, alleging that Tarlov attempted to “defame and undermine” his character.
