Hunter Biden to Sue Fox News Over ‘Laptop From Hell’ Coverage

by State Brief




Hunter’s lawyers allege Fox’s airing of “intimate images” belonging to Hunter Biden that were “hacked, stolen, and/or manipulated” violated Biden’s civil rights and copyright law.

Hunter Biden’s lawyers plan to sue Fox News “imminently”, alleging the network engaged in “conspiracy” to defame him over its coverage of his infamous Laptop From Hell.

A letter from law firm Geragos & Geragos sent to Fox News Channel and Fox News Digital alleges a “conspiracy and subsequent actions to defame Mr. Biden and paint him in a false light, the unlicensed commercial exploitation of his image, name, and likeness, and the unlawful publication of hacked intimate images of him.” 

“While routinely defaming and disparaging Mr. Biden, FOX has simultaneously sought to profit by the unlawful exploitation of Mr. Biden’s image, name, and likeness for commercial purposes and reprehensible dissemination of salacious photographs depicting Mr. Biden,” wrote lawyer Tina Glandian, a partner at Geragos & Geragos.

The letter also alleges that Fox’s airing of “intimate images” belonging to Hunter Biden they claimed were “hacked, stolen, and/or manipulated” violated Biden’s civil rights as well as copyright law. 

Attorney Mike Geragos also said in a statement, “For the last five years, Fox News has relentlessly attacked Hunter Biden and made him a caricature in order to boost ratings and for its financial gain.”

“The recent indictment of FBI informant Smirnov has exposed the conspiracy of disinformation that has been fueled by Fox, enabled by their paid agents and monetized by the Fox enterprise. We plan on holding them accountable.”

The lawyers also demanded that Fox News take down their special, The Trial of Hunter Biden — a six-part mock trial focused on his foreign business dealings.

This comes amid the backdrop of Hunter’s upcoming trial in Delaware in early June for alleged gun crimes.

Hunter may be at a disadvantage because the First Amendment protects freedom of speech and of the press, which can make it difficult for a public figure to win a lawsuit against a news outlet for reporting on truthful information.

Additionally, the public figure doctrine, established in the Supreme Court case of Curtis Publishing v. Butts (1967), states that public figures must prove actual malice, meaning the news outlet knowingly published false information or did so with reckless disregard for the truth, in order to win a defamation lawsuit.

How Hunter plans to establish malice when the explicit images and emails found on his abandoned laptop were confirmed to be authentic remains to be seen.

After all, Fox News didn’t take or manipulate the pictures of Hunter smoking crack.


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