Fox News Wednesday notified Tucker Carlson‘s lawyers that the former prime-time anchor violated his contract with the network when he launched his own Twitter show on Tuesday, according to a copy of a letter obtained by Axios.
Why it matters: A breach of contract claim sets Fox News up to explore potential legal action against Carlson, a move that would intensify the already thorny public battle between the two parties.
Carlson’s lawyers told Axios that any legal action by Fox would violate his First Amendment rights.
- “Fox defends its very existence on freedom of speech grounds. Now they want to take Tucker Carlson’s right to speak freely away from him because he took to social media to share his thoughts on current events,” said Carlson’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, in a statement to Axios.
Catch up quick: Carlson was ousted from Fox News in April following a record $787 million defamation settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, which sued the network for making false claims about the company.
- Carlson, Axios reported, has since accused Fox of fraud and has argued that Fox breached his contract when its senior executives reneged on promises made to Carlson “intentionally and with reckless disregard for the truth.”
- Carlson’s lawyers also argued Fox broke its promise to Carlson not to settle with Dominion Voting Systems “in a way which would indicate wrongdoing” on the part of the former host.
- Axios previously reported that Carlson was told by a member of the Fox board that he was taken off the air as part of the Dominion settlement, two sources briefed on the conversation told Axios.
Details: Shortly after Carlson posted the first episode of his new show on Twitter Tuesday evening, Fox News general counsel Bernard Gugar sent a letter to Carlson’s lawyers saying Carlson “is in breach” of his contract agreement.
- “In connection with such breach and pursuant to the Agreement, Fox expressly reserves all rights and remedies which are available to it at law or equity.”
The letter refers to Carlson’s contract, which was originally signed on November 8, 2019 and amended on February 16, 2021.
- “This evening we were made aware of Mr. Tucker Carlson’s appearance on Twitter in a video that lasted over 10 minutes,” the letter read.
