SCOTUS Takes a Pass on Case Tied to Hunter Biden Laptop

The Supreme Court has declined to review a case tied to Hunter Biden’s laptop, meaning litigation on the matter will continue in state courts.

Kevin Morris, a Hollywood lawyer for the president’s son, sued former Trump White House aide Garrett Ziegler in California state court for allegedly impersonating a Democratic operative on a 2022 phone call to gain information from Morris about the laptop. Morris has been described as a financial “sugar brother” of Hunter Biden.

Ziegler was a policy analyst in the White House Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy during President Donald Trump’s first term. Morris, an entertainment lawyer, reportedly loaned millions of dollars to Hunter Biden for his legal defense.

The contents of Hunter Biden’s laptop became public as a central part of the 2020 election. Information contained in the laptop included messages that suggested then-presidential candidate Joe Biden was closely tied to what many considered suspect family business deals abroad and in the United States. The laptop’s contents formed a key starting point for a later thorough investigation by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that unearthed bank records of the Biden family.  

The high court on Monday did not rule on the merits of the case of Morris and Ziegler; instead, it denied without comment Ziegler’s petition to have the case dismissed under California’s anti-SLAPP law—a statute designed to prevent strategic lawsuits against public participation, or legal action aimed at silencing critics.

The case involves several procedural rulings.

Specifically, the U.S. Supreme Court left in place a decision by the California 2nd District Court of Appeal, issued in August 2025, that allowed some of Morris’ claims to move forward, including the allegation of impersonation.

However, the same state appeals court dismissed other claims by Morris under the anti-SLAPP law. The California Supreme Court denied a review of that decision in November. Under the U.S. Supreme Court’s denial, the initial civil case continues under the framework established by the state appellate court.

The justices’ denial of cert comes just over a month after the Superior Court of California ordered Morris to pay $50,000 to Ziegler to cover legal expenses. The high court’s action does not affect that judgment.

Hunter Biden’s laptop was left in a repair shop in 2019. Initially, Hunter Biden and the Joe Biden campaign denied the authenticity of the laptop, claiming it was “Russian disinformation.” However, federal prosecutors used information from the laptop as evidence in the 2024 trial when Hunter was convicted for an illegal gun purchase.