Hunter Biden drops lawsuit against Fox News — for the second time
Hunter Biden steps into a vehicle as he leaves federal court in September 2024, in Los Angeles. (Eric Thayer/AP/File via CNN Newsource)
Hunter Biden on Friday dropped a lawsuit against Fox News that accused the right-wing network of unlawfully airing sexually explicit images of him.
This is the second time Hunter Biden has filed and then voluntarily dismissed a lawsuit against Fox News. The cases stemmed from a 2022 digital miniseries that featured a dramatized 'mock trial' against Hunter Biden about his overseas financial dealings.
Lawyers for former U.S. president Joe Biden's son claimed Fox News violated 'revenge porn' laws and defamed him. They did not explain in court filings why they dropped the case, though they recently lost an effort to move the case from federal to New York state court.
CNN has reached out to Hunter Biden's lawyers seeking comment.
In a statement sent to CNN, a Fox News Media spokesperson said, 'We are pleased to move on now that Hunter Biden has finally voluntarily withdrawn this meritless case which proved to be nothing more than a politically motivated stunt.'
The Fox series highlighted Hunter Biden's lucrative business deals in Ukraine and China, which he pursued his father was vice president. It also delved into his admitted struggles with drug abuse and alcoholism. The program also featured some intimate images of Hunter Biden with various women, which appeared to originate from his infamous laptop.
After he threatened a lawsuit in April 2024, the miniseries was taken down from the Fox Nation streaming site. He sued Fox anyway last summer, dropped the case after a few weeks, filed a new lawsuit in October, and dropped that case on Friday. In a court filing, his lawyers said he was dropping the case 'with prejudice,' meaning he can't file it again.
Hunter Biden was convicted last year on federal gun charges and pleaded guilty to tax crimes related to his overseas deals. However, he was never accused of illegally lobbying the US government on behalf of his foreign clients, as was portrayed in the Fox miniseries.
Before he could be sentenced — and potentially sent to prison — his father issued a full pardon in December, despite repeatedly pledging that he would not grant any clemency.
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