New York Times sues State Department over Hunter Biden-related emails

The New York Times has sued the State Department to gain access to U.S. embassy emails mentioning Hunter Biden, President Biden's son, Insider reported Tuesday, citing court filings.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Manhattan, requests access "to emails sent by officials at the U.S. embassy in Romania between 2015 and 2019 that contain keywords including 'Hunter Biden,'" Insider writes. Lawyers for the Times claim the State Department is stalling in responding to several Freedom of Information Act requests made by Times reporter Kenneth P. Vogel in June. Vogel had also asked for emails mentioning attorney Rudy Giuliani and Tony Bobulinski, a former business associate of Hunter Biden. Vogel covered the president's son throughout the 2020 presidential campaign, often drawing ire from team Biden, adds Politico, who first reported the lawsuit's existence.

One of the goals of the lawsuit seems to be "finding out whether embassy officials did any favors on behalf of private businesses (including, presumably, that of the president's son) that would raise questions about possible conflicts of interest and corruption," Politico writes.

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"As a routine part of their reporting, New York Times journalists regularly seek potentially newsworthy information from a variety of sources, including from the U.S. government through FOIA requests," a Times spokesperon told Insider regarding the lawsuit. "We're hopeful the government will promptly release any relevant documents, and as always we are prepared to pursue our request through a lawsuit if necessary."

A previous GOP-led investigation into Hunter Biden's business dealings in China and Ukraine found no evidence of wrongdoing by the president's son, notes Insider.