Hunter Biden sues Fox News for disseminating nude photos, videos of him
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Hunter Biden in Wilmington, Delaware, in June 2024. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Hunter Biden filed a lawsuit against Fox News on Monday, alleging the conservative news outlet violated New York law by publishing nude photos and videos of him without his consent.
Why it matters: The sexually graphic images were included in Fox News' miniseries called "The Trial of Hunter Biden," which sought to portray "how a possible Hunter Biden trial might look" for crimes he has never been indicted for.
Context: The program was taken down from Fox Nation streaming platform after Biden threatened to sue in April.
- The threat and Monday's lawsuit are part of Hunter Biden's more aggressive legal and press strategy in response to Republican attacks and other legal battles.
Driving the news: In the lawsuit, Biden's lawyers alleged Fox News intentionally sought to "harass, annoy, alarm, and humiliate" him by publishing the images and "unjustly" enriched itself at his expense.
- "It would be against equity and good conscience to allow Defendants to retain the profits from "The Trial of Hunter Biden," which should be disgorged and paid to Mr. Biden as restitution," the lawsuit reads.
- They said Fox News' program "intentionally manipulates the facts, distorts the truth," preventing viewers from deciphering "what is fact and what is fiction, which is highly damaging to Mr. Biden."
- His lawyers demanded that Fox News take down and permanently destroy and intimate images they have of Biden and to cover his legal expenses in the case.
The other side: Fox News Media, which owns Fox News, said in a statement the lawsuit was "entirely politically motivated" and "devoid of merit."
- It said that it was within its First Amendment rights to cover "newsworthy events of Mr. Biden's own making."
- "The core complaint stems from a 2022 streaming program that Mr. Biden did not complain about until sending a letter in late April 2024," it said. "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."
The big picture: The president's son was found guilty last month in his federal gun trial.
- Biden, who is seeking a new trial in the case, faces up to 25 years in prison for the three charges, but likely won't receive the maximum sentence.
- He also faces an upcoming trial over federal tax charges in California.
Go deeper: Hunter Biden's law license suspended in D.C.
