(Abdul–Rahman Oladimeji Bello, Headline USA) In a letter sent to top Fox News officials on Tuesday, Tucker Carlson’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, accused the network of fraud and contract breach, making “material representations” and breaking them “intentionally and with reckless disregard for the truth.”
The letter to Fox officials Viet Dinh and Irena Briganti was sent moments before Carlson announced a new version of his show on Twitter and two weeks after he was ousted from Fox.
We’re back. pic.twitter.com/sG5t9gr60O
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) May 9, 2023
The letter, sent amid growing frustration that Fox was holding Carlson to his contract and preventing him from working for a rival or launching his own outfit, claimed Fox employees, including “Rupert Murdoch himself,” broke promises to Carlson “intentionally and with reckless disregard for the truth,” Axios reported.
Legal analysts said the letter positioned the ousted host to argue that the non-compete provision in his contract with the network is no longer valid, and he is free to launch his own competition.
Fox officials, the letter claimed, made “material representations” or promises to Carlson and broke them “intentionally and with reckless disregard for the truth.”
The letter reportedly added that one of the agreements Fox News broke included not leaking Carlson’s private communications to the press. Moreso, the network had agreed not to use his private messages to “take any adverse employment action against him.”
However, reports show that Carlson’s private messages were instrumental in his dismissal from the network.
Furthermore, the letter reportedly alleged that the network broke promises to not settle with Dominion Voting Systems “in a way which would indicate wrongdoing” on the part of Carlson and not to take any actions in a settlement that would harm his reputation.
The letter added, “These actions not only breached the covenant of good faith and fair dealing in the Agreement, but give rise to claims for breach of contract, and intentional and negligent misrepresentation.”
Fox News denied the allegations and said it was “categorically false” that Carlson’s ouster was tied to the company’s $787.5-million Dominion settlement, while Carlson’s attorney made clear that future actions are in the works.
“Make no mistake, we intend to subpoena Ms. Briganti’s cell phone records and related documents, which evidence communications with her and all media, including, but not limited to The New York Times,” the letter said, referencing Fox’s PR chief.
