ANOTHER Massive Defamation Case Against Fox News Possibly Under Consideration

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Tucker Carlson and Fox News are facing more rhetorical heat, The New York Times reports.

As Fox faces a sweeping defamation lawsuit from the election technology company Dominion Voting Systems, which was falsely accused of involvement in a nonexistent plot to somehow rig the 2020 presidential election for Biden and against Trump, attorney Michael Teter, who represents Ray Epps, has sent a new letter demanding that deceptive claims about his client from Tucker Carlson and others at Fox be publicly withdrawn. Epps is a Trump supporter who was in D.C. when the Capitol riot took place. In connection to details including but not limited to the fact he was never charged, Epps has faced accusations of the prospect he was some kind of government agent, with the idea being that federal authorities wanted to rile up the mob as some kind of pretext against Trump supporters, or something.

There is no credible evidence for this accusation. In fact, a fellow member of the crowd with whom Epps was seen speaking individually told authorities the Arizonan was trying to calm him down. And yet, the nonsense continued. The letter demanding that Carlson retract statements he’s made about Epps specifically accuses him of defamation, although no accompanying legal filing making the same claim has been filed — so far.

“Letters seeking retractions and apologies are often sent when lawyers are preparing to file a defamation lawsuit,” the Times noted. Relatedly, Teter’s missive also asked that Fox preserves communications with House Speaker Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) about the arrangement under which Carlson and his team accessed tens of thousands of hours of security footage from the riot, an addition that also suggests a potentially pending lawsuit, with a rhetorical eye towards the discovery process.

“Recent revelations from the Dominion Voting lawsuit may help explain why Fox News has allowed the falsehoods about Mr. Epps to continue to spread, and be amplified, through its network,” Teter wrote. “But fear of losing viewers by telling them the truth is not a defense to defamation and false light.” The lawyer wanted written confirmation of Carlson and Fox moving to comply by the end of this month. Epps and his wife, like others implicated by false conspiracy theories from Donald Trump and his supporters, have faced threats to their safety and moved to what sounds like a remote area. Elsewhere, the Dominion lawsuit may soon be going to trial, assuming there’s no sudden settlement.