Hunter Biden’s legal crusade against Fox News has crashed and burned. The convicted felon dropped his “revenge porn” lawsuit against the network, as Mediaite reports, marking another failed attempt to silence conservative media. His retreat smells like a grudging admission that the case was a political stunt from the start.
In late October 2022, Fox News aired a six-part series, The Trial of Hunter Biden, a mock trial imagining how a courtroom drama involving the president’s son might unfold. The series, available on Fox Nation, stirred controversy when Biden’s legal team cried foul in April 2024, claiming that the show violated New York’s “revenge porn” law by broadcasting explicit images. Fox promptly yanked the series, but the damage was done -- or so Biden thought.
Biden’s first threat to sue came in April 2024, and Fox Nation removed the miniseries within days, citing “an abundance of caution.” By July 2024, he filed a lawsuit, only to drop it weeks later in a puzzling flip-flop. Undeterred, he refiled in October 2024, but his lawyers’ bid to move the case to New York state court flopped, and he finally threw in the towel on Friday.
The lawsuit accused Fox News of breaking New York Civil Rights Law Sec 52-b, alleging the network “commercialized” Biden’s persona with a fictionalized miniseries. “Far from reporting on a newsworthy event, Fox sought to commercialize Mr. Biden’s personality,” Biden’s July filing whined. This sob story ignores that Biden, a public figure with a rap sheet, has been fair game for scrutiny.
Fox News didn’t mince words in response. “This entirely politically motivated lawsuit is devoid of merit,” the network told Mediaite, pointing out Biden’s delayed outrage over a 2022 program. The network’s swift removal of the series shows it acted responsibly, unlike Biden’s pattern of dodging accountability.
The Trial of Hunter Biden wasn’t a documentary but a creative take on a hypothetical prosecution. Promoted as depicting “how a possible Hunter Biden trial might look,” it leaned into the public’s fascination with his scandals. Biden’s attempt to paint it as “revenge porn” stretches the law beyond reason, a desperate bid to play victim.
Fox News produced the series in 2022, long before Biden’s legal tantrum. “This program was produced in and has been available since 2022,” Fox explained to Mediaite, underscoring the absurdity of Biden’s delayed complaint. If he was so offended, why wait nearly two years to cry foul?
Biden’s legal team argued the series was “fictionalized and based on a nonexistent criminal case.” This complaint conveniently sidesteps the First Amendment, which protects satirical and creative content. Fox’s coverage of Biden’s very real controversies hardly qualifies as fiction.
The network’s response was a masterclass in calling out nonsense. “We are pleased to move on now that Hunter Biden has finally voluntarily withdrawn this meritless case,” Fox told Mediaite. The dismissal, they noted, exposed Biden’s lawsuit as “nothing more than a politically motivated stunt.”
Biden’s October 2024 lawsuit was his second swing at Fox News, and it landed with the same thud as the first. His lawyers’ failed attempt to shift the case to state court suggests they knew the federal court wasn’t buying their narrative. Dropping the case for good seals its fate as a footnote in Biden’s long list of missteps.
The dismissal is final, meaning Biden can’t drag this dead horse back to court. His retreat spares Fox News -- and the public -- from a drawn-out spectacle that would’ve enriched lawyers while proving nothing. Conservative media dodged a bullet, but the fight against woke censorship rages on.
Biden’s status as a convicted felon and a lightning rod for investigations undercuts his claims of victimhood. Fox News argued he’s “a public figure who has been the subject of multiple investigations,” a fact his legal team can’t spin away. The network’s coverage, they insisted, was “consistent with the First Amendment.”
The Trial of Hunter Biden series, while provocative, was a legitimate exercise of free speech. Biden’s attempt to weaponize New York’s revenge porn law against a 2022 mock trial reeks of selective outrage. If he’s so concerned about his image, perhaps he should’ve thought twice before living a life that invites scrutiny.
Fox News played it smart by pulling the series quickly, but the network's statement to Mediaite shows it is not cowed. “We look forward to vindicating our rights in court,” representatives declared, signaling readiness to fight any future frivolous suits. That’s the kind of backbone conservatives need in the face of progressive overreach.
Hunter Biden’s dropped lawsuit is a win for free speech and a loss for those hoping to muzzle conservative media with flimsy legal threats. The saga proves that even the well-connected can’t always bully their way to victory. Next time, Biden might want to pick a fight he can win.
