A lawsuit was filed on Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, accusing Tarlov of dishonesty. The suit claims that she initially stated on Fox News’s “The Five” that Bobulinski’s legal fees were paid by a Trump super PAC, which was later revealed to be false. Tarlov made these comments after Bobulinski testified before the House Oversight Committee for its impeachment inquiry into President Biden.
After Bobulinski’s attorney sent a letter requesting a retraction and apology, Tarlov provided further clarification on her previous remarks. She acknowledged that during the hearing, it was mentioned that a law firm representing Mr. Bobulinski received payments from a Trump PAC. However, she stated that there was no evidence to suggest that these payments were connected to Bobulinski’s legal fees, and Bobulinski himself denies any such connection.
According to a spokesperson from Fox News, they confirmed that Tarlov’s clarification was accurate. They also stated that the host was unaware of any connection between payments from a Trump PAC and Bobulinski’s legal fees.
According to the lawyers, Tarlov’s on-air clarification did not meet the criteria of a complete retraction and apology. They described it as half-hearted, incomplete, and unacceptable in their second letter to the host.
Bobulinski had a brief collaboration with Hunter Biden, although they were unable to finalize the deal they were working on together. As a crucial witness for the GOP, Bobulinski linked Biden to his son’s business. He brought attention to an email that discussed the distribution of funds from a Chinese company, which mentioned keeping “10 [percent] held by H for the big guy.” According to Bobulinski, this was a reference to the president.
Bobulinski eventually joined forces with allies of former President Trump, while Passantino, a former White House lawyer, has represented several Trump White House aides in front of the House Jan. 6 committee. In 2022, law firms associated with Passantino were granted over $1 million from PACs affiliated with Trump.
Mr. Passantino’s lawyers emphasized in the lawsuit that he was exclusively compensated by Mr. Bobulinski for his past representation, just as he was for his representation on March 20, 2024. It is important to highlight that no outside parties have ever contributed financially to Mr. Passantino’s representation of Mr. Bobulinski.
Bobulinski’s legal team is seeking $30 million in damages, claiming that Tarlov attempted to “defame and undermine” his character.
