Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Attacks Dominion Over Firing Tucker Carlson From Fox News

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has waded into the furore surrounding the ouster of Tucker Carlson from Fox News, citing a report from Axios that the network parted ways with the controversial host as part of its deal with Dominion Voting Systems.

On Saturday (May 13), the Governor tweeted: “If the public information is accurate that Dominion Voting Systems demanded that Tucker Carlson be fired as part of a litigation settlement, then I am happy Dominion does not operate in Texas, and no I don’t think they should in the future.

Abbott added: “We may disagree with the positions of others, but we should never unduly try to silence views contrary to our own.”

In addition, he tweeted: “If Dominion wants to do business with Texas in the future, they must first answer questions about what role, if any, they played in silencing a prominent conservative journalist.

“The answers to those questions and other factors should guide whether we want them to operate here.”

The governor included a link to the report Axios May 9, “Scoop: Tucker Carlson Accuses Fox of Fraud, Breach of Contract.”

The focus of the report is an aggressive letter sent by attorneys representing Carlson to Fox News alleging “fraud and breach of contract” against their client.

It cites broken promises about allegedly leaking private messages and not using those messages to “take any adverse employment action against you.” Carlson is said to be preparing for “war” against the network.

It has been widely reported that Carlson’s private communications are the alleged reason for his abrupt ouster on April 24.

However, the letter also alleges that the network broke a promise not to settle with Dominion “in a manner that could indicate misconduct” on Carlson’s part or take any action on a deal that would damage its reputation.

Axiosciting two sources briefed on the conversation, he reports that a Fox board member told Carlson that he was taken off the air.

“These actions not only violated the covenant of good faith and fair dealing in the Settlement, but give rise to claims for breach of contract and willful and negligent misrepresentation,” the letter states.

A Fox News spokesperson said Axios it is “categorically untrue” that Carlson lost his job as part of the network’s $787.5 million deal with Dominion.

Additionally, Stephen Shackelford, an outside attorney for Dominion, told the outlet: “Dominion did not insist that they fire Tucker Carlson as part of the deal.”

Last week, Carlson announced that he would soon be bringing his show to Twitter. Such a move would technically violate a non-compete provision in his contract, which runs through January 2025.

Carlson’s lawyers argue that the network’s actions have already breached the contract, allowing him to pursue other opportunities.