By Stephen Dinan The Washington Times Thursday, March 6, 2025

Hunter Biden has fallen on tough financial times amid his legal woes and his father’s departure from the White House.

The former president’s son, in a filing with a federal court this week, said he’s struggling to sell his artwork and his book sales have plummeted as well. He also lost his rental home in the California wildfires and can’t find a place to live.

He told the judge he’s in such financial straits that he has to drop a lawsuit he’d filed against a former Trump aide, and he hinted some other civil lawsuits he’s filed may also have to end.

“Since late 2023 and through today, my income has decreased significantly,” Mr. Biden told the court.

During the early years of his father’s term in the White House, Mr. Biden said he sold 27 pieces of art for an average of nearly $55,000 apiece. But since December 2023 he’s sold just one for $36,000.

Meanwhile, sales of his memoir, “Beautiful Things,” dropped from 500 books a month to fewer than 200.

He said he’d been lured into believing his work would have more staying power.

“Given the positive feedback and reviews of my artwork and memoir, I was expecting to obtain paid speaking engagements and paid appearances, but that has not happened,” he said.

Mr. Biden’s art dealer had praised him as a major talent in the art world.

His critics said his buyers were paying for access to the Biden family, not for the artwork.

In his court filing, Mr. Biden said he has “significant debt,” nodding at press reports that put it at “several million dollars.” He said he’s unable to get new loans.

He also said his rental home was rendered unlivable by the Palisades fire in January. “I am having difficulty in finding a new permanent place to live,” he said.

Mr. Biden’s 2024 also saw him convicted of federal gun and tax evasion charges. His father, Joseph R. Biden, gave him a pardon in December when he was still president.

The filing came in a civil lawsuit filed in 2023 against Garrett Ziegler, a one-time aide in the first Trump White House.

Mr. Biden said Mr. Ziegler’s website, Marco Polo, broke state and federal laws in creating a database of emails recovered from Mr. Biden’s now-infamous laptop. Mr. Biden said the emails were illegally accessed and manipulated.

The new court filing came in response to an inquiry from Judge Hernan D. Vera, who asked for an update after Mr. Biden’s lead attorney dropped out of the case.

Mr. Biden said he suddenly realized a lot of work on the case was about to run up his bill, so he wants it dismissed, albeit without prejudice so he could refile it later.

Mr. Ziegler’s lawyer, in an email submitted in court documents, chided Mr. Biden for his reversal, saying they were “surprised.”

“It is clear plaintiff failed to conduct a reasonable investigation into the basic facts of this case prior to filing it, and it is therefore unsurprising that plaintiff now seeks to voluntarily dismiss the action,” wrote Jennifer L. Holliday.