Hunter Biden drops lawsuit against Fox News over ‘mock trial’ miniseries
Biden dropped the lawsuit just hours after his father, President Joe Biden, announced his decision to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race, though it’s not clear if the timing is related.
The decision came less than a month after the president’s son sued Fox News, claiming the right-wing network unlawfully published “intimate images” of him in a 2022 miniseries about his legal troubles on the Fox Nation streaming service.
Representatives for Hunter Biden didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on Sunday. A Fox News spokesperson declined to comment.
The miniseries, “The Trial of Hunter Biden,” was a six-part offering that featured a dramatized “mock trial” about Hunter Biden’s overseas financial dealings that led, in part, to his federal tax indictment and claims that fueled House Republicans’ stalled impeachment inquiry into his father.
Fox News removed the miniseries from its platforms in late April after Biden threatened to file a lawsuit. Nonetheless, he sued the network on June 30.
At the time, a Fox News spokesperson claimed the lawsuit was meritless and “entirely politically motivated,” and said the network looked forward to “vindicating our rights in court.”
“Consistent with the First Amendment, Fox News has accurately covered the newsworthy events of Mr. Biden’s own making,” the spokesperson said.
While Hunter Biden ended his lawsuit against Fox, his legal challenges continue. Biden, 54, faces a federal tax evasion trial scheduled for September. He was convicted earlier this year of three federal gun felonies in a separate trial. He has not, however, been charged in connection with the bribery and foreign lobbying allegations that were at the center of Fox’s miniseries.
Earlier on Sunday, Biden released a statement praising his father’s historic decision to bow out of the 2024 race.
“I’m so lucky every night I get to tell him I love him, and to thank him,” Biden wrote. “I ask all Americans to join me tonight in doing the same. Thank you, Mr. President. I love you, Dad.”
After dropping the lawsuit against Fox News, Hunter Biden mentioned that he continues to face other legal challenges, including a federal tax evasion trial scheduled for September. The removal of the controversial miniseries from Fox's platforms occurred less than a month before the lawsuit was filed, indicating potential business implications for both parties involved in the media debate.
