Hunter Biden Sues Fox News for ‘Revenge Porn’
Hunter Biden is suing Fox News for “revenge porn,” claiming the conservative news network featured several of his “intimate images” in a “politically motivated” six-part miniseries that was distributed on the Fox Nation streaming service in October 2022.
The controversial miniseries, which is no longer available, was titled “The Trial of Hunter Biden” and centered on evidence allegedly found on Biden’s notorious laptop. It was structured as a fictitious mock trial that imagined what a criminal proceeding against Biden might look like if he were charged with bribery and acting as a foreign agent. Since no such charges have ever been filed, the series is an act of fantasy, not legitimate news, and had no right to include private, intimate images and video depicting Biden fully naked and sometimes “engaged in sex acts,” Biden alleges in his new lawsuit filed in New York.
“Beginning in 2020, as part of their politically motivated attacks against the president and his family, [Fox News Network and its affiliates] targeted Mr. Biden in an effort to harass, annoy, alarm, and humiliate him, and tarnish his reputation,” the complaint, first submitted in state court and moved on Monday to federal court in Manhattan, alleges. Biden claims the series was not a “matter of legitimate public concern,” so Fox should not be allowed to claim any free speech protection.
“In publishing and disseminating these intimate images, Fox knew that these private and confidential images were hacked, stolen, and/or manipulated digital material which were intended to remain private and confidential, but which had been unlawfully procured and disseminated without Mr. Biden’s consent,” the complaint obtained by Rolling Stone states.
“Far from reporting on a newsworthy event, Fox sought to commercialize Mr. Biden’s personality through a form of treatment distinct from the dissemination of news or information,” the 14-page lawsuit continues. “The miniseries is fictionalized; it is not a news event. It was made for the purpose of trade and advertising, and merely exploits Mr. Biden’s name, image, and likeness for Fox’s commercial benefit.”
A Fox spokesperson responded to Rolling Stone‘s request for comment on Monday. “This entirely politically motivated lawsuit is devoid of merit,” the Fox spokesperson said in the statement. “The core complaint stems from a 2022 streaming program that Mr. Biden did not complain about until sending a letter in late April 2024. The program was removed within days of the letter, in an abundance of caution, but Hunter Biden is a public figure who has been the subject of multiple investigations and is now a convicted felon. Consistent with the First Amendment, Fox News has accurately covered the newsworthy events of Mr. Biden’s own making, and we look forward to vindicating our rights in court.”
Biden’s lawyer, Mark Geragos, did not immediately return Rolling Stone‘s request for comment. Geragos previously sent a letter to Fox warning that the president’s son was preparing to sue over “conspiracy and subsequent actions to defame Mr. Biden and paint him in a false light.” The lawsuit filed this week does not include a claim for defamation. It focuses on New York state’s so-called “revenge porn” statute and includes claims for intentional infliction of emotional distress and unjust enrichment. It says publication and dissemination of the intimate images was “a knowing, intentional, and calculated violation of the law.”
“Defendants’ conduct was so egregious and done so clearly with malice and/or reckless indifference to Mr. Biden’s interests, wellbeing, and reputation that in addition to all the damages which Mr. Biden is entitled to, defendants should also be required to pay punitive damages to punish them for their intentional conduct and to deter Fox and others similarly situated from engaging in such reprehensible conduct in the future,” the new lawsuit states.
Hunter Biden has been under investigation for years, with prosecutors looking into his finances and a firearm he acquired. Three separate congressional committees opened investigations involving the president’s son in the hopes of proving allegations of corruption against the president himself.
Hunter Biden was convicted on all charges in his gun trial last month, making him the first child of a sitting president to be found guilty of a crime. He was convicted of lying on a firearm purchase application and possessing a gun while battling an addiction to illegal drugs. The jury took only three hours to return their verdict. Biden faces a possible maximum sentence of 25 years in prison at sentencing — but considering he’s a first-time offender, experts say he likely will get much less, possibly even no prison time. He’s due to begin a separate trial later this year on charges he failed to pay $1.4 million in taxes.
Last December, the House of Representatives voted along party lines to authorize an official impeachment inquiry into President Biden. The stalled inquiry has been called a “partisan charade” by the White House. For its part, Fox News has been a reliable platform pushing the Republican-backed effort. A February study by the progressive watchdog group Media Matters found that host Sean Hannity aired 325 segments related to Hunter Biden in 2023. A separate study published in April found that Fox as a whole mentioned Hunter Biden at least 13,440 times since Jan. 3, 2023.
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