The fallout from Fox News firing Tucker Carlson is spreading in unexpected directions.
Fox News finds itself on the defensive.
And all hell broke loose when Fox News delivered this warning about Tucker Carlson.
After Fox News fired Tucker Carlson leaked text messages began appearing in The New York Times and The Daily Beast smearing Carlson as a blood-thirsty racist.
These text messages were redacted in depositions Carlson gave as part of a defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems against Fox News relating to the 2020 election.
At first, everyone assumed Fox News fed the texts to its allies in the corporate media to try and tarnish Carlson’s reputation so his eventual comeback would pose no threat to Fox News.
But now Fox News is accusing Dominion of leaking the redacted court documents.
Fox News attorney Katharine Mowery fired off a letter to Dominion counsel Brian and Michael Farnan pointing out that Dominion was the only other party with access to Carlson’s depositions.
“To our knowledge, portions of documents described and quoted in these articles were never made public on the docket, and, notably, three of the documents cited in The Daily Beast were only exhibits at Mr. Carlson’s deposition (not in any Court filings). Additionally, the testimony from Mr. Carlson’s confidential deposition quoted in the Daily Beast article was never made public on the docket,” Mowery’s letter stated.
Mowery explained leaking Carlson’s redacted text messages violated the protective order as part of Fox News’s settlement with Dominion.
“As you must be aware, such disclosure by your clients would be a violation of the Court’s Amended Order Governing the Production and Exchange of Confidential Information. For example, paragraph 10 of that Order provides that ‘Discovery Material shall be used solely for purposes of this Litigation and shall not be used for any other purpose.’ Particularly now that the action has been settled and is no longer active, sharing confidential discovery material with the media could never be said to be ‘for purposes of this Litigation.’ Nor are members of the media included among the persons (listed in paragraphs 6 and 7 of that Order) with whom confidential discovery material may be shared. See also Order ¶ 27. Moreover, paragraph 23 expressly provides that the terms of the Order ‘continue to be binding throughout and after the conclusion of the Litigation,’” Mowery added.
Mowery instructed Dominion’s attorneys to conduct an internal leak investigation to determine if anyone in the company or if the lawyers representing the company were responsible for these leaks.
But was this a case of Fox News trying to cover its tracks?
The leaked Carlson text messages saw Fox News come out on the wrong end of the coverage in conservative media as a leak campaign to destroy a talent for the MO of Fox Corp.’s controversial P.R. chief Irena Briganti.
After Fox News fired Carlson, Megyn Kelly revealed how Briganti went after her in the press when Kelly left Fox News.
Kelly predicted Briganti would wage a similar campaign against Carlson.
Fox News lost 30 percent of its audience after firing Carlson and the leaks made Fox News look like the behemoth corporation trying to bully a beloved star.
And that left some wondering if Fox’s demand for Dominion to conduct a leak investigation was an attempt to cool down the heat currently on Fox News.
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