Hunter Biden drops lawsuit against Fox News over mock trial show
President Biden’s son Hunter is dropping a defamation lawsuit he filed last month against Fox News over a fictional program that depicted his legal troubles.
The motion by Hunter Biden’s lawyers to voluntarily dismiss the case was filed Sunday in New York Supreme Court. Fox News was notified hours after President Biden ended his reelection campaign and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris.
Hunter Biden’s lawsuit asserted that Fox News defamed him in a six-part series called “The Trial of Hunter Biden: A Mock Trial for the American People†that was shown on its streaming platform Fox Nation.
The 2022 series featured Judge Joe Brown, a syndicated TV jurist, presiding over a dramatized court proceeding showing Biden on trial for bribery and illegal financial dealings with foreign governments. Biden has never been indicted on such charges.
Biden was convicted last month of federal gun crimes, including lying about being drug-free when he purchased a gun while he was addicted to crack cocaine.
The Fox Nation series opened with a disclaimer that viewers were not seeing a real trial and that Biden had not been charged with any of the crimes portrayed. It did use actual emails and images from Biden’s laptop to make the case against him, including nude photos.
Jason Donner has filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the company, claiming he lost his job for speaking out about falsehoods that aired on Fox News.
The program also cast some figures in the Biden story to play themselves, such as the owner of the Delaware computer repair shop where the president’s son abandoned his laptop.
Fox Nation pulled the program in April 2024 after Biden sent a letter threatening legal action.
The network called the suit politically motivated and “devoid of merit†when it was filed.
Geragos & Geragos, the law firm representing Biden, did not respond to a request for comment on why it dropped the suit.
Inside the business of entertainment
The Wide Shot brings you news, analysis and insights on everything from streaming wars to production — and what it all means for the future.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
