Hunter Biden’s attorneys anticipate an “imminent” lawsuit against Fox News and its associated streaming service Fox Nation and have requested that top personalities at the network preserve documents.
Attorneys for the president’s son cited statements made by Fox personalities including Jessie Watters and Maria Bartiromo in a lengthy letter sent to Fox attorneys last week and shared with The Independent on Monday.
The letter from Hunter Biden’s attorney also argues that the network has used his image outside of the bounds of protected journalistic inquiry.
In particular, it cites a fictionalised mock trial put on by the Fox streaming service, Fox Nation, called The Trial of Hunter Biden.
The full list of Fox personalities directed to preserve their communications includes: Jesse Watters, Sean Hannity, Jeanine Pirro, Dana Perino, Miranda Devine, Laura Ingraham, and Maria Bartiromo.
The letter also names the “BLT Team” — named after the pricy Capitol-area eatery BLT Steak — where strategy meetings concerning the network’s coverage of Hunter Biden supposedly took place.
“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.
Hunter Biden remains separately charged with federal tax crimes as well as an allegation that he lied about his history of drug use on an application for the purchase of a firearm.
Hunter Biden’s lawyers have asked that prominent figures at Fox News hold onto documents because they foresee a “imminent” lawsuit against the network and its streaming service Fox Nation.
In a long letter sent to Fox attorneys last week and shared with The Independent on Monday, the president’s son’s attorneys referenced remarks made by Fox personalities such as Jessie Watters and Maria Bartiromo. Republicans have accused Hunter Biden of being involved in an influence-trading scheme with his father’s knowledge or approval. The letter demands that coverage of these claims be immediately corrected, along with Mr. Biden’s alleged overseas business dealings.
The House GOP’s impeachment investigation was sparked by those allegations, but it has stalled because there isn’t enough evidence or witness testimony to support the idea that President Joe Biden was ever aware of his son’s financial dealings.
The network has exploited Hunter Biden’s image beyond the parameters of protected journalistic inquiry, according to the letter from his lawyer. It specifically mentions The Trial of Hunter Biden, a fictitious mock trial hosted by Fox Nation, the streaming service. A fictitious courtroom set, complete with a mock judge, jury, prosecution, and defense attorneys, was used for the broadcast.
The whole list of Fox personalities who were instructed to keep their communications private includes Laura Ingraham, Jesse Watters, Sean Hannity, Jeanine Pirro, Dana Perino, Miranda Devine, and Maria Bartiromo. The letter also identifies the “BLT Team,” so called in reference to the expensive restaurant BLT Steak in the Capitol region, as the location of alleged strategy meetings for the network’s coverage of Hunter Biden.
Fox News has been contacted by The Independent for comment and to find out if the network has answered the letter. Attorney Tina Glandian signed it.
In her letter, Ms. Glandian also accused Fox of downplaying the news that Alexander Smirnov, a major source for the accusations against Hunter Biden, had been charged with a crime for allegedly lying to the FBI about those same allegations.
“To increase ratings and increase its profit, Fox News has been making fun of and attacking Hunter Biden nonstop for the past five years. Hunter Biden’s attorneys Mark Geragos, Bryan Freeman, and Tina Glandian issued a joint statement saying, “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’re going to hold them responsible. “.
Following the channel’s executives’ settlement of a significant defamation lawsuit Dominion Voting Systems had filed following the 2020 election, the Fox network is now facing the possibility of legal action. In that instance, top Fox executive Rupert Murdoch acknowledged that the hosts did so for ratings. Several Fox personalities, including former star Tucker Carlson, were accused of carelessly spreading demonstrably false conspiracies regarding the company’s voting machines and software utilized in 2020.
As a consequence of the lawsuit, Fox lost credibility in the journalism community and ultimately consented to an unprecedented $787 million settlement in the Dominion case. The disclosure of Carlson’s attempts to target the company’s straight-news reporters for their attempts to refute election-related misinformation alarmed a lot of reporters.
Along with the charge that he falsified information about his past drug use on an application to purchase a firearm, Hunter Biden is still facing separate charges related to federal tax offenses.
