Fox News Has ‘Good’ Argument Against Hunter Biden Lawsuit: Attorney

According to attorney Neama Rahmani on Monday, Fox News has a “good” argument against Hunter Biden’s new lawsuit over the network’s “mock trial” series.

On Sunday, Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, filed a 15-page lawsuit in Manhattan state court, accusing Fox News of creating The Trial of Hunter Biden” series “in an effort to harass, annoy, alarm, and humiliate him, and tarnish his reputation.”

“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,” Hunter Biden claims in the suit. “Indeed, the entire miniseries is fictionalized and based on a nonexistent criminal case.”

The six-part series titled The Trial of Hunter Biden, which was produced and has been available since 2022, featured a “mock trial” about Hunter Biden centered around the overseas financial dealings that led to his federal tax indictment and helped fuel the House impeachment inquiry into the president. The network has since removed the program on Fox News’ streaming platform Fox Nation in April.

As part of the lawsuit, Hunter Biden alleges Fox News violated New York Civil Rights Law Sec 52-b, which covers revenge porn, by featuring intimate video footage and still images depicting him in the nude and engaged in sex acts, according to court documents.

“In publishing and disseminating these intimate images, Fox knew that these private and confidential images were hacked, stolen, and/or manipulated digital material which were intended to remain private and confidential, but which had been unlawfully procured and disseminated without Mr. Biden’s consent,” the lawsuit reads.

On Monday, in an emailed statement to Newsweek, Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor and current president of the firm West Coast Trial Lawyers in Los Angeles, rejected the legal bases around the argument of revenge porn in the case, adding that Fox News has a “good” first amendment argument.

“That’s not the way the law is intended to apply. It is meant to protect people who are in sexual relationships. Fox News has a good First Amendment argument to get the case dismissed. I expect them to file an anti-SLAPP motion on that basis,” Rahmani said.

In another emailed statement to Newsweek, attorney Matthew Barhom with Power Trial Lawyers also had some concerns about the legal arguments in the case, adding that Hunter Biden has “an uphill battle” ahead of him.

“Hunter Biden’s lawsuit raises some interesting points about the application of this statute. Typically, “revenge porn” laws are designed to protect individuals from the non-consensual distribution of sexually explicit material by former partners or others with intimate access. Biden’s case is somewhat unique as it involves allegations of Fox News airing and profiting from explicit images purportedly obtained from his abandoned laptop,” Barhom said.

He added: “They claim these actions constitute unlawful exploitation and defamation. But that may be an uphill battle for Biden, as defamation of a public figure, like Hunter Biden, comes with additional protections to the first amendment of “malice”. Regarding his chances of success, Biden’s case may be an uphill battle and will likely hinge on several factors, including whether the court views Fox’s use of the images as newsworthy or sensationalized for profit.”

Meanwhile, in an emailed statement to Newsweek, Fox News spokesperson responded and condemned the lawsuit calling it “devoid of merit.”

“This entirely politically motivated lawsuit is devoid of merit. 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. 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,” a Fox News spokesperson said.

The recent lawsuit comes after Hunter Biden initially threatened to sue in a letter sent to Fox News in April. The law firm Geragos & Geragos, representing Hunter Biden in this case, said the videos in the docuseries represent incendiary and sexually explicit images about Hunter Biden’s legal troubles. The letter also cited “revenge porn” laws and demanded the immediate removal of the series.

In the letter, Biden’s lawyers also reiterated claims in the latest lawsuit that said, “FOX knows that these private and confidential images were hacked, stolen, and/or manipulated digital material.”

When reached for comment by Newsweek, a spokesperson for Geragos & Geragos said in an email, “At this time, the complaint will serve as the comment.”

In addition, according to court documents, Hunter Biden clips and promotional reels from the series are still live on Fox’s social media pages, and the show is still available for streaming on certain third-party platforms.

“Clips of ‘The Trial of Hunter Biden’ containing the intimate images of Mr. Biden also remain accessible online and in the public domain,” the court documents read.