Former Fox News contributor and Sirius XM host Megyn Kelly has accused senior executives at Fox News of leaking negative information about Tucker Carlson to diminish his chances of being picked up by a rival news platform and taking his large audience with him.
Kelly speculated that Fox News Senior Executive Vice President of Corporate Communications Irena Briganti is responsible for “leaking” the out-of-context video clips and private text messages to left-leaning media outlets.
Kelly charged: “So they first leaked to The New York Times, this is my supposition for the record because it hasn’t been yet been confirmed, but I know it’s them.”
Megyn continued: “And I know it’s Irena Briganti who runs comms and … hates Tucker … she hates his guts. And it’s mutual. He doesn’t like her either. None of us do. Nobody likes Irena.”
The New York Times claims Fox News fired Tucker because his commentary prompted violence and division in America.
The Times asserted that text messages from the Network’s top-rated host just after the Jan 6, 2021, riot and breach of the Capitol “set off a panic at the highest levels of Fox.”
Dominion Voting Systems filed a slander suit against Fox for suggesting their voting system products were unreliable or could be manipulated to show favorable results to a particular party. Text messages from Tucker lent credence to that view.
Dominion appeared poised to use Carlson’s subpoenaed text messages and various on-air comments to press for $1.6 billion in damages. Fox News Media settled out of court for a record $787.5 million.
While some charge that Fox settled out of court to avoid the disclosure of information embarrassing to Fox News Media owners, the Murdock family, the Times puts the brunt of the impetus for the settlement on Tucker’s shoulders.
According to the Times report, Carlson’s text message reads:
A couple of weeks ago, I was watching video of people fighting on the street in Washington. A group of Trump guys surrounded an Antifa kid and started pounding the living s*** out of him. It was three against one, at least. Jumping a guy like that is dishonorable obviously. It’s not how white men fight.
Yet suddenly, I found myself rooting for the mob against the man, hoping they’d hit him harder, kill him. I really wanted them to hurt the kid. I could taste it.
Then, somewhere deep in my brain, an alarm went off: this isn’t good for me. I’m becoming something I don’t want to be. The Antifa creep is a human being. Much as I despise what he says and does, much as I’m sure I’d hate him personally if I knew him.”
I shouldn’t gloat over his suffering. I should be bothered by it. I should remember that somewhere somebody probably loves this kid and would be crushed if he was killed. If I don’t care about those things, if I reduce people to their politics, how am I better than he is?
The Times acknowledged that “in public filings, [Tucker’s text message] … remains hidden behind a block of black text.” However, though the text was redacted in court filings, the media outlet published it as a quote because its “full contents were disclosed in interviews with several people close to the defamation lawsuit against Fox.”
The Times noted their unnamed sources “spoke on the condition of anonymity because they did not want to be identified discussing a message that is protected by a court order.”
The Times’ report has drawn fierce criticism. Donald Trump Jr. wrote: “Fox News leaking to the left-wing New York Times to smear Tucker Carlson isn’t just an attack on Tucker, it’s an attack on all of his fans and conservatives everywhere!”
Scroll down to leave a comment and share your thoughts.
