Garrett Ziegler

Garrett Ziegler is an American political activist and former political aide who worked as a White House staffer in the first administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Early life and education Ziegler was raised by his parents in Altamont, Illinois, and in 2014 graduated from Altamont High School. He then attended Saint Louis University, graduating magna cum laude in 2018 with a bachelor's degree in economics. He served in this position from February 2019 to January 2021. Ziegler had credentials revoked after the incident.

Marco Polo and other actions related to the Biden family Ziegler is the founder of a nonprofit named Marco Polo, and both he and his organization have been prolific in releasing information about the Biden family, particularly revolving around Hunter Biden and data purported to be from his laptop. This has included an October 2022 release of a long report on the laptop that alleged numerous crimes were committed by Hunter Biden, releases of about 120,000 emails and other files, along with almost 10,000 photos, both caches claimed to be from the laptop, and publishing a transcription of a diary written by Biden's sister, Ashley.

Reception Ziegler has said he first received a copy of the laptop's data through Rudy Giuliani and Bernard Kerik in late 2020. Republican activist Jack Maxey claimed that in December 2020, he gave Ziegler a copy of the data to bring to the Director of National Intelligence, but that Ziegler instead retained it. In response, Ziegler stated that Maxey indeed gave him a copy of the data, but that he received another copy from Kerik and returned the copy Maxey gave him. Maxey has also accused Ziegler of profiting from the laptop through donations to his organization. Media speculation prior to the committee meeting believed he would be a witness to the committee due to his connections with Navarro, the December 18 meeting, and his other knowledge about Trump's dispositions late in the administration. After attending the committee, he posted a lengthy response on his Telegram page, described by spectators as vulgar and sexist. In it, he called the body "a Bolshevistic anti-White campaign", and among other claims, said he was being targeted based on his Christianity.

Legal issues Ziegler was brought onto the child support case between Lunden Roberts and Hunter Biden by Robert's lawyers, who had him designated an expert witness. They stated Ziegler was "an expert in Hunter Biden" and many details of his life. At first, Biden's attorneys opposed his inclusion on the grounds of a lack of expertise and an alleged bias against Biden, but eventually conceded to his inclusion. Ziegler then gave a deposition to the court. The case was eventually settled. In March 2025, Hunter Biden moved to dismiss the lawsuit due to him lacking the finances to continue the case, but still contended publicly that the claims had merit. Ziegler took the unusual move of opposing the dismissal as the defendant, stating that he wanted compensation for his attorney's fees. Following these motions, Judge Vera dismissed the case with prejudice in the same month.

Ziegler was also sued by Kevin Morris, friend and patron of Hunter Biden, on claims of doxing his personal information and harassment.

Personal life Ziegler is a Lutheran, and lives with his family in Illinois. He is a cousin of Richard Nixon's press secretary, Ron Ziegler.