But the series integrates real images of Biden, "depicting him in the nude, depicting an unclothed or exposed intimate part of him, as well as engaged in sex acts," the complaint alleges.

"Fox published and disseminated these intimate images to its vast audience of millions as part of an entertainment program in order to humiliate, harass, annoy and alarm Mr. Biden and to tarnish his reputation."

The images originated from a laptop that Hunter Biden dropped off at a computer repair shop, but which he never collected.

Its contents have been circulating ever since, and are the subject of widespread conspiracy theories as well as embarrassing fodder for the political opposition.

"This entirely politically motivated lawsuit is devoid of merit," Fox News said in a statement.

"Mr. Biden did not complain about (it) until sending a letter in late April 2024. The program was removed within days of the letter, in an abundance of caution.

"Consistent with the First Amendment, Fox News has accurately covered the newsworthy events of Mr. Biden's own making, and we look forward to vindicating our rights in court."

Hunter Biden was convicted by a jury in June of illegal possession of a firearm in a federal trial that again brought to light his years of addiction to alcohol, cocaine and crack cocaine, apparent in many of the images discovered on the laptop.

In September he will face a separate tax fraud case, a trial that is likely to distract from his father's presidential campaign.