Fox News is threatening legal action against former host Tucker Carlson if he does not stop posting videos to Twitter.
In a letter labelled “NOT FOR PUBLICATION," the legal team for Fox News told Carlson's lawyers that his new series is in violation of his contract. Ever since being removed from the network, Carlson has been posting episodes similar to his old series, Tucker Carlson Tonight, to the social media platform Twitter under the name Tucker on Twitter.
Carlson's contract prohibits him from working with a direct competitor, but his lawyers argue that as a social media platform, Twitter does not fall under those provisions. They have also argued that his series is protected by the First Amendment.
Harmeet K. Dhillon, Carlson's lawyer, said in a statement that the network is "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,” he said. “Tucker will not be silenced by anyone.”
Carlson was fired from Fox News shortly after the network settled a defamation suit with Dominion Voting Systems for $787 million over Fox's claims that the company contributed to unproven voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election. Carlson was one such figure who made the claims, but his remarks were not explicitly stated to be the reason behind his removal.
Axiosfirst reported on the letter last week, the contents of which have since been verified by NBC and The New York Times. While Carlson no longer has a series on the network, he is still considered an employee of Fox, and beholden to any noncompete contracts previously signed.
"This evening we were made aware of Mr. Tucker Carlson’s appearance on Twitter in a video that lasted over 10 minutes," the letter reads, continuing to quote Carlson's contract, "Pursuant to the terms of the Agreement, Mr. Carlson’s 'services shall be completely exclusive to Fox.'"
It continues to say that Carlson's contract outlines that he is "prohibited from rendering services of any type whatsoever, whether 'over the internet via streaming or similar distribution, or other digital distribution whether now known or hereafter devised.'"
"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 states.
Carlson's contract with the network does not expire until December 31, 2024.
