Attorneys for former FOX News anchor Tucker Carlson are hitting out at the network over its cease–and–desist letter sent to Carlson.
In a surprise move on April 23, FOX News abruptly removed Carlson from its coverage, without citing any specific reasons.
Though Carlson was said to have received a $20 million–a–year contract with FOX News, his attorneys now allege that any legal action threatened by the network to prevent him from creating a competing series on Twitter would be a violation of his First Amendment rights.
Harmeet Dhillion, Carlson‘s attorney, said in a statement: ‘FOX News continues to ignore the interests of its viewers, not to mention its shareholder obligations. Doubling down on the most catastrophic programming decision in the history of the cable news industry, FOX is now demanding that Tucker Carlson be silent until after the 2024 election. Tucker will not be silenced by anyone.’
Dhillion continued: ‘Fox is now demanding that Tucker Carlson be silent until after the 2024 election. Tucker will not be silenced by anyone… He is a singularly important voice on matters of public interest in our country, and will remain so.’
She went on to hit out at the network, asking: ‘For all the members of Congress, culture warriors, ‘influencers, GOP officials — do you really want to air your views on a network that spits on its viewers, leaks [opposition] on its own talent, and even threatens former talent for speaking, for free, on Twitter?! You have free will!’
Dhillion also suggested she would not be appearing on the network any time soon, owing to her choice to represent Carlson.
‘For all the friends who have been asking “Why don‘t we see you on FOX anymore?” This is why. I am passionately committed to free speech and a free flow of information necessary for a free society,’ she said.
Bryan Freedman, Carlson‘s other attorney, also sent a letter to network officials Viet Dinh, the company‘s chief legal officer, and Irena Briganti, the head of corporate communications, accusing the network of breaking several promises made to Carlson.
This included accusations of breaking promises not to leak private messages, not to settle with Dominion Voting Systems in a way to suggest Carlson was wrong, and not to attempt to ‘undermine, embarrass, and interfere‘ with Carlson‘s future business prospects.
Freedman reportedly warned in the letter: ‘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 lawyers further asserted that since the network breached their contract with Carlson, that contract was therefore null and void.
FOX News, however, denies any legal action against Carlson was part of their $787.5 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems.
In response to Carlson‘s show debuting on Twitter, Elon Musk, the platform‘s owner, took to Twitter to express his support for Carlson‘s endeavor: ‘Would be great to have shows from all parts of the political spectrum on this platform!’ he wrote while retweeting Carlson‘s first episode.
For now, Carlson‘s show on Twitter has already gained much traction, claiming a combined 169 million views for the first two episodes.
The future of Tucker Carlson‘s show is uncertain, but it is clear that the ousted former FOX anchor will not remain silent as he and his lawyers continue to come out swinging against his former network.
