Hunter Biden’s legal team reportedly sent a letter threatening to sue Fox News “imminently” over the alleged “unlicensed commercial exploitation” of the president’s son.
Mark Geragos, an attorney for the younger Biden, warned Fox Corporation and Fox News Digital of their preparation to seek damages over the network’s alleged “conspiracy and subsequent actions to defame [Hunter] 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,” according to NBC News. No lawsuit has currently been filed.
The April 23 letter is signed by Tina Glandian, a partner at the Geragos and Geragos law firm working on the case, according to NBC News. The firm gave Fox News until April 26 to respond, though the network has reportedly not responded.
The younger Biden’s legal team has reportedly been planning to sue Fox for over a year, according to NBC News. Geragos said the network “relentlessly attacked” his client for good ratings and “financial gain.”
“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,” Geragos said in a statement. “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.”
Lawyers for Hunter Biden plan to sue Fox News ‘imminently’
@S_Fitzpatrick: https://t.co/XYcpJrVSmO
— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) April 29, 2024
The letter mentions Fox News’ coverage of the Biden bribery allegations raised by Alexander Smirnov, who told the FBI that executives at Burisma—a Ukrainian energy company—discussed paying millions of dollars to Hunter and his father in order for the elder Biden to use his political clout to protect the company, NBC reported. The FBI charged Smirnov for allegedly fabricating the story about then-Vice President Joe Biden and Burisma, where Hunter served on the Board of Directors from 2014 to 2019.
The letter accused Fox News of intentionally labeling the allegations as “highly credible” despite the information being unverified, the outlet reported. (RELATED: Hunter Biden Sues IRS Alleging Agents Released Private Tax Information)
The letter demanded retractions and corrections from several anchors, including Sean Hannity, Maria Bartiromo and Jesse Watters, who the legal team said participated in this practice while covering the Smirnov allegations, according to the outlet.
The network is also accused of airing “intimate images” that were “hacked, stolen, and/or manipulated,” according to NBC News. The letter said many of these images were published during the six-part “mock trial” titled “The Trial of Hunter Biden” that aired in October 2021. Hunter’s legal team is demanding the “mock trial” series be removed from all streaming services.
“While using certain true information, the series intentionally manipulates the facts, distorts the truth, narrates happenings out of context, and invents dialogue intended to entertain. Thus, the viewer of the series cannot decipher what is fact and what is fiction,” the letter reportedly reads.
The letter is reportedly the second form of communication by Hunter’s legal team to Fox News this month, as they allegedly hand-delivered a previous letter to the network weeks ago, according to NBC News. Fox’s legal counsel reportedly asked for more time to give a response.
Hunter is charged with three counts of illegally purchasing a Colt Cobra revolver in October 2018 while under the influence of drugs. He is charged in a separate indictment with nine counts related to his failure to pay over $1 million in taxes over a four-year period.