Hunter Biden’s former business partner filed a lawsuit against Fox News host Jessica Tarlov after her on-air comments about his legal fees.
Though Tarlov gave an on-air clarification after she claimed Tony Bobulinski’s legal fees were paid by a pro-Trump super PAC, the witness in the impeachment probe into President Joe Biden filed a defamation lawsuit Thursday.
The $30 million lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and is aimed at Tarlov’s comment during a panel discussion on Fox News’s “The Five” following Bobulinski’s testimony before the House Oversight Committee.
“Today I filed a lawsuit against Ms. Jessica Tarlov of Fox News for defamation. Although I am seeking compensatory, special, and punitive damages from her for the damage her public remarks inflicted on my personal and professional reputation, this is not about money,” Bobulinski said in a statement.
NEW: Tony Bobulinski Officially Files Lawsuit Against Fox News’ Jessica Tarlov: @DailyCaller
STATEMENT: Today I filed a lawsuit against Ms. Jessica Tarlov of Fox News for defamation. Although I am seeking compensatory, special, and punitive damages from her for the damage her… pic.twitter.com/K0rGdWgvqZ
— Henry Rodgers (@henryrodgersdc) March 28, 2024
“This is about the truth, for which I have been fighting for four years. It is important for media personalities like Ms. Tarlov to understand that lies have consequences,” he continued, explaining that he would “donate every penny I may be awarded in this suit to a children’s hospital and to support our military Veterans.”
“Ms. Tarlov refused to apologize and sincerely correct the record. I look forward to holding her accountable in a court of law and to continuing to bring the truth to the American people,” Bobulinski’s statement concluded.
At the center of the lawsuit is the comment made by the liberal host and her on-air clarification the next day after Bobulinski’s attorney Jesse Binnall sent Fox News a letter demanding a retraction and apology.
“What was actually said during the hearing was that the law firm representing Mr. Bobulinski was paid by a Trump PAC. I have seen no indication those payments were made in connection with Mr. Bobulinski’s legal fees, and he denies that they were,” Tarlov said on the air.
Compare the fervor with which @JessicaTarlov lied about Bobulinski on “The Five” to her half-baked non-retraction a day later. Bobulinski demanded a real retraction and apology and Tarlov refused, thus the defamation lawsuit. pic.twitter.com/dTtPz0oggH
— LivePDDave 🇺🇸 (@LivePDDave1) March 28, 2024
In a second letter to the network, the lawyers contended that Tarlov did not make a “complete retraction and apology” on the March 21st edition of “The Five,” and called it “half-hearted, incomplete and unacceptable.” The letter demanded “a complete retraction and apology” from Tarlov “made without the petulant innuendo or further attempted mental gymnastics as we saw from her yesterday.”
Fox News is standing by Tarlov’s clarification.
“Jessica Tarlov’s March 21st statements were accurate and made clear that she was not aware of anything to indicate that payments from a Trump PAC to Elections, LLC were made in connection with Tony Bobulinski’s legal fees,” a spokesperson for the network said in a statement to The Hill. “We stand by our decision to not issue any further corrections and will vigorously defend against these inaccurate claims.”
The lawsuit alleges that Tarlov “lied to achieve media headlines and ratings and to serve her political agenda by deliberately besmirching the character of Messrs. Bobulinski and Passantino.”
“Ms. Tarlov was aware at the time she made them that these false statements invoking President Trump would inflame a segment of the country against Mr. Bobulinski and Mr. Passantino and would falsely cause her viewers to disbelieve Mr. Bobulinski’s sworn testimony,” the complaint reads. “As a Democratic strategist, and consistent with a well-established pattern of hostile and malicious intent to defame the character and reputation of anyone associated with President Trump, such as Mr. Passantino, and anyone who dared speak up against the Biden family.”
