A phone call from Fox News’ own lawyer is at the center of Tucker Carlson’s case against the embattled network, two sources familiar with the call have confirmed to the Daily Caller.
Fox News’ Chief Legal Counsel Viet Dinh allegedly called a close associate of Carlson’s on May 3 asking to have a message relayed to Carlson. Dinh expressed regret at how the previous week had played out in the media, according to two sources, reassuring Carlson’s camp that Fox News had “not authorized” the leaks that led to several negative headlines. Sources say Dinh also relayed that the head of Fox News PR, Irena Briganti, had been warned she would be “fired” if she were caught leaking. Critically, he also confessed, according to the sources, that the network’s leaders suspected a member of the board of directors had been speaking to the press about Tucker without authorization.
Carlson’s camp suspected either former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan or Anne Dias, a wealthy hedge fund manager, according to a source. Both were appointed to Fox’s board in March of 2019. Carlson’s inner circle has since ruled out Ryan, according to sources, and now believes it was Dias who talked to the press.
Carlson accused Fox of breaching his contract, arguing in a letter to Dinh and Briganti that Fox employees, including Rupert Murdoch, promised not to disparage Carlson, according to Axios. Carlson’s lawyers argue Dinh and Murdoch intentionally broke the “material representations,” according to the report. “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,” the letter reportedly says, “and intentional and negligent misrepresentation.”
Leaks to the media included private text messages sent by Carlson along with behind-the-scenes footage of Carlson joking with coworkers prior to taping his show. Critics regarded Fox News’s letters, which were publicized weeks ago, as a smokescreen to divert blame for the leaks away from the beleaguered brand. Fox has suffered tremendously in the wake of the cancellation of “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”
The very first episode of “Fox News Tonight,” which replaced Carlson’s show, dropped in ratings within the key 25-to-54-year-old age demographic. Things went from bad to worse, with the time slot pulling in just 1.3 million viewers with host Brian Kilmeade, getting beat out by MSNBC’s Chris Hayes, who had 1.38 million viewers the same night. Carlson was averaging 3.25 million viewers and his show was the second highest-rated show on cable news, behind Fox’s “The Five.” Other viewers took a harder approach, canceling their Fox Nation subscriptions in protest.
Meanwhile, others have spoken out in support of Carlson, with NFL legend Brett Favre calling for a boycott of Fox News. “Time to boycott Fox until they come to their senses and let the man speak,” Favre posted to Twitter. “No decision has been made on a new primetime line-up and there are multiple scenarios under consideration,” Fox said in a statement Wednesday, according to Variety. But even a primetime shake-up might not be enough to pull Fox News from the slump. A recent poll conducted between April 28 – May 2 amongst 404 likely 2024 Republican primary voters found Carlson had a net favorability of 59% while Fox News had one of -4%.
R&I-Rawr
Scut FarKus
Article URL : https://dailycaller.com/2023/05/19/exclusive-fox-news-lawyer-phone-call-tucker-carlson-breach-of-contract-case/