Fox News all but pointed a finger Friday at Dominion Voting Systems as the source of a now-infamous Tucker Carlson text message suggesting that a mob attack is “not how white men fight,” calling for the Denver company to investigate the leak and warning that they’re in danger of breaching their $787.5 million settlement agreement they forged just last month.
Those warnings came in a letter from Fox lawyers to counsel for Dominion, dated Friday and demanding an answer by Monday regarding stories published this week in the New York Times and Daily Beast. Dominion, which has already cashed the check from its settlement victory, forcefully denied involvement Friday, saying: “Nobody associated with Dominion shared these confidential materials with the press.”
Fox was working on another theory.
“Fox has become aware that documents Fox produced to your clients in discovery in this litigation have been shared with members of the media,” the letter opens. “Portions of documents described and quoted in these articles were never made public on the docket, and, notably, three of the documents cited in The Daily Beast were only exhibits at Mr. Carlson’s deposition (not in any Court filings). Additionally, the testimony from Mr. Carlson’s confidential deposition quoted in the Daily Beast article was never made public on the docket.”
Fox did not explicitly accuse Dominion of leaking the materials, a notion that people close to the voting systems company have privately dismissed. But not since Michael kissed Fredo at a party in Cuba has the message been this clear – and as if to add, “that’s a nice settlement you’ve got there, be a shame if anything happened to it,” Fox lawyers reminded Dominion’s that discovery materials are protected by the settlement’s terms.
Disclosing anything now “would not only be a violation of the Order but also a breach of the parties’ Release and Settlement Agreement, which requires return or destruction of all of Fox’s Confidential or Attorneys’ Eyes Only Discovery Material within 30 days of dismissal of the case.”
Finally, Fox asked Dominion to look into its possible role in the leaks and, yeah. They’re gonna need you to work over the weekend.
“Accordingly, Fox requests that you and your clients immediately make an investigation into the circumstances surrounding this inexcusable release of confidential discovery material and report back to Fox by the close of business on May 8, 2023.”
