Fox takes down docuseries on Hunter Biden after legal threat

Fox News says it has taken down a docuseries on its streaming service focusing on Hunter Biden, the president’s son, after he threatened to sue the outlet for using images he said were private.

“This program was produced in and has been available since 2022,” the network said in a statement Tuesday. “We are reviewing the concerns that have just been raised and — out of an abundance of caution in the interim — have taken it down.”

In a letter sent by Biden’s attorneys to Fox News this week and obtained by several news outlets, the younger Biden accused the network of conducting unlawful publication of “hacked” images and demanded the outlet retract and remove them from its platforms.

Earlier Tuesday, Fox pushed back on the assertions made in the letter.

“Hunter Biden’s lawyers have belatedly chosen to publicly attack Fox News’ constitutionally protected coverage regarding their client,” the network wrote.

“Mr. Biden is a public figure who has been the subject of investigations by both the Department of Justice and Congress, has been indicted by two different US Attorney’s Offices in California and Delaware, and has admitted to multiple incidents of wrongdoing,” the outlet continued. “Consistent with the First Amendment, Fox News has accurately covered these highly publicized events as well as the subsequent indictment of an FBI informant who was the source of certain claims made about Mr. Biden.”

Biden’s attorneys are arguing the docuseries was produced for its streaming service “just for entertainment value,” lacked news value and used explicit images the president’s son to paint him in a negative light.

Republicans and leading pundits on Fox and elsewhere in conservative media have aggressively attacked Biden for years over his foreign business deals, history of drug use and tax issues.