Fox News has asked Dominion Voting Systems to look into whether they leaked internal messages from fired host Tucker Carlson that were used as evidence in the defamation lawsuit that was settled by the network for $787.5 million.
The messages contained racist and sexist remarks by Carlson, which multiple news outlets had reported. Fox News and its parent company Fox Corp claim that the leaked information was provided as part of the lawsuit, and was to remain confidential as per court orders and the settlement agreement with Dominion.
Fox had requested that Dominion’s lawyers investigate the circumstances surrounding the release of the confidential information, and report their findings by the end of Monday. Dominion, however, has denied that the materials came from the company or any of its lawyers. “Nobody associated with Dominion shared these confidential materials with the press,” they said.
Fox has also sent a letter to the left-leaning watchdog group Media Matters, demanding that it stop publishing leaked footage of Carlson on set. Media Matters has responded by stating that reporting on leaked material is a cornerstone of journalism, and it is absurd for Fox to argue otherwise.
Dominion had filed a lawsuit against Fox for knowingly spreading false claims that its ballot-counting machines were used to rig the 2020 US election against former president Donald Trump and in favor of Joe Biden. Fox had denied the allegations but settled the case in Delaware Superior Court just before opening statements were set to begin. Carlson, who was Fox’s biggest star, was abruptly fired just days later.
The leaks have caused concern for Fox, particularly after a Carlson message, which criticized Trump supporters for beating up a leftist demonstrator because that was “not how white men fight,” was revealed in the New York Times.
The Daily Beast also reported on a text message in which Carlson used the C-word, which was the second instance of him doing so.
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