Carlson's Lawyer Sends 'Aggressive' Letter to Fox

Before relaunching his show on Twitter, Tucker Carlson sent an "aggressive letter" to former employer Fox News, arguing that he's free from his contract and its noncompete clause because Fox violated the contract first. That's according to Axios, whose sources say Carlson's lawyer sent the letter before Carlson announced Tuesday that he would bring a "new version" of his show online. Fox reportedly plans to continue paying Carlson for the remainder of his contract, which expires in January 2025. But Carlson accuses Fox of breach of contract and fraud in the letter penned by lawyer Bryan Freedman and requests the network "preserve all existing documents and data" related to its relationship with Carlson as he considers legal action.

Carlson claims Fox executives, including "Rupert Murdoch himself," broke promises "intentionally and with reckless disregard for the truth," per Axios. The letter states Fox violated an agreement not to leak his private messages to the media or use them "to take any adverse employment action against him." It also claims Fox's PR chief Irena Briganti, whom Carlson reportedly tried to get fired, breached his contract in attempting to "undermine, embarrass, and interfere" with his future prospects. The letter lays out an intention to subpoena Briganti's cell phone records and communications with "all media, including, but not limited to the New York Times." The Times has published numerous reports about the role Carlson's messages played in his ouster, as People points out.

Furthermore, Carlson claims Fox reneged on a promise not to settle with Dominion Voting Systems "in a way which would indicate wrongdoing" by Carlson or harm his reputation. A member of the Fox board reportedly told Carlson he was fired as part of Fox's $787.5 million settlement with Dominion, though Fox says this is "categorically false." Dominion's co-lead counsel Stephen Shackelford tells Axios that "Dominion did not insist on them firing Tucker Carlson as part of the settlement." Carlson's letter follows leak of a conversation in which the fired host blasts an unnamed female executive for employing "a lot of liberals" and suggests they are behind leaks related to his show, per the Guardian. "Nobody's been leaked that I know of besides us," he says, "so whoever's leaking is targeting us." (More Tucker Carlson stories.)