Lawyers for Fox Corp. have sent a cease and desist letter to media watchdog Media Matters for America, asking them to stop releasing never-before-seen footage of recently fired Fox News host Tucker Carlson making controversial comments off air , Newsweek reported.
"FOX demands that Media Matters cease and desist from distribution, publication, and misuse of Fox's misappropriated proprietary footage, which you are now on notice was unlawfully obtained. We reserve all rights and remedies," the law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Professional Corporation wrote in a letter to Angelo Carusone, president and CEO of Media Matters for America.
Media Matters has released clips of leaked videos that apparently were recorded on the sets of various Fox News programs. Three videos show Carlson talking about sex in a matter the organization called "creepy."
"FOX did not consent to its distribution or publication; and FOX does not consent to its further distribution or publication. This proprietary material was given to you without FOX's authorization," the law firm said in the letter.
Media Matters responded to the letter accusing the network of trying to "silence free speech."
"Reporting on newsworthy leaked material is a cornerstone of journalism. For Fox to argue otherwise is absurd and further dispels any pretense that they're a news operation," Carusone said in a statement to Newsweek. "Perhaps if I tell them that the footage came from a combination of WikiLeaks and Hunter Biden's laptop, it will alleviate their concerns."
Carlson was fired by Fox on April 24 for unknown reasons.
Read the full report over at Newsweek.
