Repair shop owner sues CNN, Daily Beast, Politico over 'Russian disinformation' claims regarding Hunter Biden's laptop

The laptop repair store owner at the center of publicizing the contents of Hunter Biden’s abandoned hardware is now suing CNN, the Daily Beast, and POLITICO for defamatory damages that cost him his livelihood amid claims that the story was "Russian disinformation."

Hunter Biden first dropped off his laptop in April 2019, but forgot about it. Mac Isaac shared the laptop’s data with the FBI in December of that year, before then Rudy Giuliani obtained it and the New York Post broke the story in October 2020.

Mac Isaac’s lawsuit was filed in Montgomery County, Maryland. The claimant seeks both compensation damages for the impact that it had on his professional life, but he’s also seeking to clear his name in the public eye by pushing forward with legal proceedings.

"After fighting to reveal the truth, all I want now is for the rest of the country to know that there was a collective and orchestrated effort by social and mainstream media to block a real story with real consequences for the nation," Mac Isaac said in a statement to the New York Post.

"This was collusion led by 51 former pillars in the intelligence community and backed by words and actions of a politically motivated DOJ and FBI. I want this lawsuit to reveal that collusion and more importantly, who gave the marching orders."

Mac Isaac singled out Adam Schiff of the House Intelligence Community for pushing the baseless claims in a last-ditch effort to protect the Biden family’s reputation.

The litigation targets the initial pushback against the initial New York Post story following its debut. Here’s a rundown of the moments of interest cited in Isaac’s lawsuit against the outlets in question:

• CNN: "CNN’s broadcast of the false statement accuses the Plaintiff of committing an infamous crime, i.e., treason by working with the Russians to commit a crime against the United States of America by attempting to undermine American democracy and the 2020 Presidential election," per the lawsuit. This aspect of the situation pertains to defamation claims by Isaac against Rep. Adam Schiff, when the Democrat in a Wolf Blitzer interview asserted the laptop story was organized by the Kremlin.
• Daily Beast: The lawsuit complaint by Isaac says the Daily Beast used terminology to allege that Mac Isaac somehow stole Hunter Biden’s laptop and implied it wasn’t simply abandoned.
• POLITICO: This was the outlet that alleged 51 former intelligence officials believe Hunter Biden’s story was Russian disinformation. "The article was written by journalist Natasha Bertrand, who seemingly has a history of transforming speculation into fact in the stories upon which she reports," the lawsuit alleges. It was a report that was propped up by White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki in the final weeks of the 2020 Presidential election campaign. At the beginning of April, House Republicans sent a letter to each of these intel officials demanding answers about how they came to corroborate that claim.

The ramifications of the aforementioned establishment media’s reporting forced Mac Isaac to close his Delaware repair shop after vandals threw various food objects and dog feces at the property’s storefront. The owner had to go into hiding.

While Mac Isaac was unsuccessful in his lawsuit efforts against Twitter, former CEO Jack Dorsey had previously gone on record saying it was a mistake for his site to censor the initial New York Post story.

People have repeatedly called Isaac a "stooge" for Russian President Vladimir Putin in the time since the outlets named in the lawsuit publicized accusations. Death threats and mail harassment directed towards the former repair shop owner echoed that theme and cost him his public reputation, according to the lawsuit.

The attorney representing Mac Isaac, Brain Della Rocca, says his client is seeking  "at least $1 million in compensatory damages [and] punitive damages which will be the much bigger number and will be determined at trial."

The Post reports that The America Project nonprofit group is backing Isaac’s efforts with this lawsuit.

The Department of Homeland Security Secretary stands by his decision to have Nina Jankowicz head up the DHS’s disinformation board, despite her previous history of supporting the false claims at the center of Isaac’s lawsuit.

After "mainstream media" outlets publicly scoffed at the legitimacy of the Hunter Biden laptop scandal, places like the New York Times and the Washington Post eventually independently confirmed for themselves it was the real deal.

It was later revealed that Hunter Biden likely lost possession of more than one single laptop.