Fox News removed the six-part series “The Trial of Hunter Biden” from its streaming service Fox Nation after receiving a legal threat from Hunter Biden’s lawyers.
The lawyers sent a letter demanding removal of the program, which presented a “mock trial” of Hunter Biden, claiming it contained “distortions” and unlawfully used intimate images of Hunter Biden without authorization.
“‘The Trial of Hunter Biden’ contains ‘all-pervasive distortions, inaccuracies, invented dialogue, and the narration of happenings out of context,’” the letter read.
“Thus, FOX’s knowing production and airing of ‘The Trial of Hunter Biden’ is a blatant violation of Mr. Biden’s rights, for which he is entitled to damages and injunctive relief,” the letter added.
“Mr. Biden is the exclusive rights holder of the copyrighted material identified above including but not limited to the intimate images depicted above that have been published without authorization on Fox Nation’s ‘The Trial of Hunter Biden,’” the letter read.
The letter alleged violations of Hunter Biden’s copyright, rights to his image and likeness, and many state revenge porn laws.
“In addition to the unlawful commercial exploitation of Mr. Biden’s image, name, and likeness, ‘The Trial of Hunter Biden’ also unlawfully published and continues to publish intimate images of Mr. Biden depicting him in the nude as well as engaged in sex acts in violation of the majority of states’ laws against the nonconsensual disclosure of sexually explicit images and videos, sometimes referred to as ‘revenge porn’ laws,” it read.
Fox News responded by taking down the program “out of an abundance of caution” pending review, but defended its constitutionally protected coverage of Hunter Biden as a public figure who has been the subject of multiple investigations and admitted wrongdoing.
“This program was produced in and has been available since 2022. We are reviewing the concerns that have just been raised and — out of an abundance of caution in the interim — have taken it down,” Fox News stated.
“Hunter Biden’s lawyers have belatedly chosen to publicly attack Fox News’ constitutionally protected coverage regarding their client. Mr. Biden is a public figure who has been the subject of investigations by both the Department of Justice and Congress, has been indicted by two different U.S. Attorney’s Offices in California and Delaware, and has admitted to multiple incidents of wrongdoing. Consistent with the First Amendment, Fox News has accurately covered these highly publicized events as well as the subsequent indictment of an FBI informant who was the source of certain claims made about Mr. Biden,” Fox added.
