Latest news with #TheTrialofHunterBiden
New York Post
2 days ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Hunter Biden drops ‘revenge porn' lawsuit against Fox News for second time over nude laptop photos
Hunter Biden once again dropped a lawsuit against Fox News that accused the network of using 'revenge porn' linked to his infamous laptop in its portrayal of the former president's son in a 2022 streaming series. The lawsuit, filed last October, accused Fox of violating New York's Civil Rights Law by broadcasting sexually explicit content of Biden in a six-part miniseries titled 'The Trial of Hunter Biden' — a fictional account of a courtroom proceeding that never took place. The series, aired on the Fox Nation platform, included material sourced from the contents of Biden's laptop — which became the subject of a series of investigative reports published by The Post ahead of the 2020 presidential election.. Advertisement 3 Hunter Biden has once again withdrawn a lawsuit against Fox News. CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images 'We are pleased to move on now that Hunter Biden has finally voluntarily withdrawn this meritless case, which proved to be nothing more than a politically motivated stunt,' a Fox News spokesperson said in a statement to The Post. Fox News is owned by Fox Corp — sister company to The Post's corporate parent News Corp. This was the second time Biden has initiated legal proceedings against the network and then backed off. He first threatened to sue in April 2024, leading Fox Nation to quietly remove the series from its library. Advertisement A lawsuit followed in July, only to be withdrawn weeks later. The October case, which was officially dismissed on Friday, cannot be refiled. Although Biden's legal team has offered no public explanation for abandoning the suit, a recent loss in court — where they failed to move the case from federal to state jurisdiction — may have played a role in the decision. The Post has sought comment from Hunter Biden. Advertisement 3 The lawsuit, filed last October, accused Fox of violating New York's Civil Rights Law by broadcasting sexually explicit content of Biden in a six-part miniseries. AFP via Getty Images In his initial filing, Biden alleged that Fox News had crossed a legal line by airing private, sexually explicit images of him, claiming the series amounted to a form of revenge porn and was 'entirely fictionalized.' The complaint accused the network of exploiting Biden's image 'through a form of treatment distinct from the dissemination of news or information.' Advertisement Fox, for its part, defended the program as protected under the First Amendment. 'This entirely politically motivated lawsuit is devoid of merit,' the network said last year. '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.' Fox added that 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.' Hunter Biden has faced a series of legal troubles, including tax and gun charges. He was convicted last year on three felony counts related to lying about his drug use when purchasing a firearm. 3 Hunter Biden is seen right with wife Melissa Cohen Biden in June 2024. Ron Sachs – CNP for NY Post 'The Trial of Hunter Biden' series drew from the contents of a laptop Hunter allegedly left at a Delaware repair shop in 2019. Advertisement The Post's reporting about the laptop was met with widespread censorship across major tech platforms, including Twitter and Facebook, which limited the story's reach under the justification that it could be based on 'hacked materials' — a claim later proven false. The laptop contained tens of thousands of emails, personal messages, financial records and videos, some of which showed Biden engaging in illicit drug use and explicit activity. These materials became a flashpoint in the political debate around media bias, censorship and the Biden family's business dealings.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Hunter Biden quietly drops ‘revenge porn' lawsuit against Fox over airing of explicit images
Hunter Biden has dropped his lawsuit against Fox News over the broadcasting of sexually explicit images as part of a 2022 series entitled The Trial of Hunter Biden. Biden initially threatened to sue Fox in April last year, leading to the streaming platform Fox Nation removing the program. Biden subsequently sued Fox in July 2024, but dropped the lawsuit after just a few weeks. He launched yet another lawsuit in October, which he dropped late last week. '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,' Fox told media outlets in a statement. Biden's initial lawsuit argued that Fox had crossed the bounds of New York's Civil Rights Law Sec 52-b, which handles what's known as 'revenge porn.' In late October 2022, the show hit the airwaves after being promoted as showing 'how a possible Hunter Biden trial might look.' While Biden's attorneys haven't stated why they dismissed the suit, they recently failed in an attempt to move it to New York state court from federal court. In Friday's court filing, his attorneys said he was dropping the case 'with prejudice' meaning that he can't file it another time. Biden's July filing stated, '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. Indeed, the entire miniseries is fictionalized and based on a nonexistent criminal case.' 'This entirely politically motivated lawsuit is devoid of merit,' Fox told Mediaite at the time. '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,' the network added. '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.' The Fox program investigated Biden's business deals in Ukraine and China during his father's time as vice president. It also reviewed his struggles with alcoholism and drug abuse. The show included intimate images of Biden with a number of women, with the images seemingly coming from his laptop that he dropped off at a Delaware repair shop in April 2019. Last year, Biden was convicted on federal gun charges and pleaded guilty to tax violations connected to his business deals abroad. It was, however, never alleged that he attempted to unlawfully lobby the government on behalf of foreign clients, as the Fox series suggested. Before Biden was sentenced, his father, then-President Joe Biden, issued a full pardon even after repeatedly saying he wouldn't do so.
