WASHINGTON: Fox News has requested that Dominion Voting Systems’ attorneys look into the possibility that they released contentious internal texts from fired Fox personality Tucker Carlson that were used as proof in their most recent defamation lawsuit.
The demands were made in letters that Fox made public after many news organisations broadcast Carlson’s racist and sexist comments contained in leaked internal conversations and recordings.
Fox News and its parent firm Fox Corp (FOXA.O) stated that those were provided to Dominion as part of the litigation, alleging that Fox defamed Dominion by presenting false allegations of election manipulation.
According to court orders and the terms of the network’s $787.5 million settlement with the Denver-based voting technology business last month, the information was to be kept private.
Right-wing extremist TV host Tucker Carlson and Fox News severed ties on April 24 almost one week after the network agreed to pay $787.5 million in a defamation lawsuit to Dominion Voting Systems over the dissemination of lies about the 2020 presidential election.
Carlson, who used his primetime talk show to influence Republican Party, was notorious for his racist comments, lies and allegations of sexism on his show.
Fox asked Dominion’s solicitors at Farnan LLP to “immediately probe the circumstances surrounding this unacceptable release of private discovery material” and provide a report by the end of Monday with their findings.
Dominion disputed that the documents originated from the business or any of its solicitors. The corporation said, “nobody associated with Dominion shared these confidential materials with the press.”
The disclosures, according to Fox, “violate the text and spirit” of the agreement on a settlement, which “requires the return or destruction” of any secret discovery information. Fox wrote this separately to Dominion attorneys at Susman Godfrey LLP and Clare Locke LLP.
Fox is trying to minimise the public relations effect from the disclosures. In a letter issued to Media Matters on Friday, the network demanded that it stop disseminating stolen images of anchor Carlson on the set.
In a statement, Media Matters President Angelo Carusone stated that “reporting on newsworthy leaked stuff is a cornerstone of journalism” and that it was “absurd” for Fox to assert otherwise.
In its complaint, Dominion said that Fox intentionally propagated untrue allegations that the 2020 US election were rigged in favour of Democrat Joe Biden and against the former Republican President Donald Trump.
