A former Secret Service agent has sued two right-leaning news organizations for publishing stories based on allegedly fabricated text messages linking him to Hunter Biden.
Robert Savage filed defamation suits against the New York Post and two of its reporters, as well as the Daily Mail, its owner and its publisher, alleging they recklessly disregarded information casting doubt on the veracity of the messages, which came from a laptop computer that purportedly belonged to President Joe Biden's son, reported NBC News.
“Rob has not and has never met Hunter Biden, does not know Hunter Biden, has no connection with Hunter Biden, and has never corresponded with Hunter Biden,” said Mark Goidel, an attorney for Savage.
The attorney said Savage, a 25-year veteran of the U.S. Secret Service and the Special Agent in Charge of the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office from 2015 to 2017, was "flabbergasted by the false reporting” and had filed the lawsuits out of concern for the well-being for himself, his family and his business.
“I am fully convinced that the New York Post and the Daily Mail were aware that their factual allegations were false and that the text messages they attributed to Rob were fabricated” Goidell said.
A representative for the New York Post declined to comment, while the owner and publisher of the Daily Mail did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer appeared during a 2023 Fox News interview to make reference to the text messages, which reportedly came from an Apple computer dropped off at a Delaware repair shop. Data from the device later ended up in the possession of allies of then-president Donald Trump, including Rudy Giuliani and Steve Bannon.
The suit alleges that the telephone number associated with the texts was not linked to Savage, who was questioned in 2022 by agents from the FBI and IRS and later served a grand jury subpoena in Delaware.
“Rob was extremely cooperative and demonstrated to the agents why and how the allegations were false and fabricated,” Goidell said. “They were apparently satisfied that Rob was truthful because there has been no additional contact from any law enforcement agency.”