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The scorched-earth activist trying to take down Hunter Biden
If you want to know where this comes from, he's the cousin of Ron Ziegler, Richard Nixon's press secretary. He looks a lot like his cousin.
The scorched-earth activist trying to take down Hunter Biden
Garrett Ziegler, an often-provocative former Trump White House staffer, seeks to influence House investigations and the public discussion
By Meryl Kornfield
September 17, 2023 at 6:00 a.m. EDT
Garrett Ziegler, a former staffer in the Trump White House, has dug deeply into the Biden family's history. “In the Western world, I’m confident that nobody has dug into the American first family more than us,” he said in a YouTube interview. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post)
When Lunden Roberts needed an expert to help prove that Hunter Biden had the money to keep making substantial child support payments for their 4-year-old daughter, her legal team turned to Garrett Ziegler. ... Ziegler doesn’t have a degree in personal finance. He doesn’t personally know the president’s son. But Ziegler, whose first job out of college was working as a low-level aide in the Trump White House, has fashioned himself into a Hunter Biden specialist, compiling personal and financial records from anywhere he can get them. Then, his nonprofit posts them online.
Ziegler claims this cache offers the fullest accounting of Hunter Biden’s life, from his battles with drug addiction to his sexual escapades to his business dealings. “In the Western world, I’m confident that nobody has dug into the American first family more than us,” he said recently on YouTube. “I’ve just become obsessed with studying the family.”
Ziegler, 27, enjoys a following of tens of thousands on social media and the attention of conservative media. He has made himself a chief antagonist of the younger Biden, prompting lawsuits, an Internal Revenue Service complaint and other legal pushback from Hunter Biden’s circle. ... Ziegler is at the vanguard of a sprawling network of Biden antagonists, from right-wing media organizations to congressional leaders to MAGA activists, that is focused intensely on the president’s son. They see Hunter Biden’s activities as his father’s biggest political vulnerability, a conclusion reflected in the House GOP’s recent decision to launch an impeachment inquiry.
On Wednesday, Hunter Biden sued Ziegler in federal court in California, alleging that the activist had violated privacy laws and calling him “a zealot who has waged a sustained, unhinged and obsessed campaign against [Hunter Biden] and the entire Biden family for more than two years.”
{snip}
Ziegler also has posted, on his Telegram page, photos of his targets’ daughters wearing bathing suits or partying with friends, sometimes ridiculing the girls’ appearances. In other posts he has shared with his following, women are mocked for being bad drivers or purportedly being biologically unfit for military combat. ... Ziegler said his attacks on the women are legitimate, even if they are private citizens, because their public photos are “degenerate.” He said he does not agree with every post he shares with his followers; he was joking when he forwarded memes about women’s driving skills, he said, but he does not believe women should serve on the military front lines.
{snip}
Jacqueline Alemany and Jeremy Merrill contributed to this report.
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https://wapo.st/46fm0MR
By Meryl Kornfield
Meryl Kornfield is a staff writer on the Politics desk of The Washington Post. Twitter https://twitter.com/merylkornfield
Garrett Ziegler, an often-provocative former Trump White House staffer, seeks to influence House investigations and the public discussion
By Meryl Kornfield
September 17, 2023 at 6:00 a.m. EDT
Garrett Ziegler, a former staffer in the Trump White House, has dug deeply into the Biden family's history. “In the Western world, I’m confident that nobody has dug into the American first family more than us,” he said in a YouTube interview. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post)
When Lunden Roberts needed an expert to help prove that Hunter Biden had the money to keep making substantial child support payments for their 4-year-old daughter, her legal team turned to Garrett Ziegler. ... Ziegler doesn’t have a degree in personal finance. He doesn’t personally know the president’s son. But Ziegler, whose first job out of college was working as a low-level aide in the Trump White House, has fashioned himself into a Hunter Biden specialist, compiling personal and financial records from anywhere he can get them. Then, his nonprofit posts them online.
Ziegler claims this cache offers the fullest accounting of Hunter Biden’s life, from his battles with drug addiction to his sexual escapades to his business dealings. “In the Western world, I’m confident that nobody has dug into the American first family more than us,” he said recently on YouTube. “I’ve just become obsessed with studying the family.”
Ziegler, 27, enjoys a following of tens of thousands on social media and the attention of conservative media. He has made himself a chief antagonist of the younger Biden, prompting lawsuits, an Internal Revenue Service complaint and other legal pushback from Hunter Biden’s circle. ... Ziegler is at the vanguard of a sprawling network of Biden antagonists, from right-wing media organizations to congressional leaders to MAGA activists, that is focused intensely on the president’s son. They see Hunter Biden’s activities as his father’s biggest political vulnerability, a conclusion reflected in the House GOP’s recent decision to launch an impeachment inquiry.
On Wednesday, Hunter Biden sued Ziegler in federal court in California, alleging that the activist had violated privacy laws and calling him “a zealot who has waged a sustained, unhinged and obsessed campaign against [Hunter Biden] and the entire Biden family for more than two years.”
{snip}
Ziegler also has posted, on his Telegram page, photos of his targets’ daughters wearing bathing suits or partying with friends, sometimes ridiculing the girls’ appearances. In other posts he has shared with his following, women are mocked for being bad drivers or purportedly being biologically unfit for military combat. ... Ziegler said his attacks on the women are legitimate, even if they are private citizens, because their public photos are “degenerate.” He said he does not agree with every post he shares with his followers; he was joking when he forwarded memes about women’s driving skills, he said, but he does not believe women should serve on the military front lines.
{snip}
Jacqueline Alemany and Jeremy Merrill contributed to this report.
Share
https://wapo.st/46fm0MR
By Meryl Kornfield
Meryl Kornfield is a staff writer on the Politics desk of The Washington Post. Twitter https://twitter.com/merylkornfield
7 replies
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