Report: Fox Board, Including Paul Ryan and Murdochs, Involved in Tucker Carlson Ouster

The Fox Corporation’s board, comprised of eight members, including Paul Ryan and two Murdoch family members, was reportedly involved in Tucker Carlson’s ouster.

One day before the Dominion trial was set to begin and before Carlson’s ouster, Fox’s board of directors reviewed previously disclosed text messages sent by Carlson to his producer that caused the board to hatch a plan to hire a law firm to investigate Carlson, two sources told New York Times.

“It remains unclear how the text escaped more notice earlier, given that the Fox legal team was aware of it and other offensive texts written by Mr. Carlson,” the Times reported. “Mr. Carlson had even been asked about it during a deposition, according to several people who have read the unredacted transcripts of his deposition.”

The board was likely to face scrutiny about how it handled the Dominion case during additional legal action in Delaware, which could encompass Carlson’s texts. Former speaker of the House Paul Ryan, Fox Corporation Chair Rupert Murdoch, and Murdoch’s son, Lachlan Murdoch, are prominent members of Fox’s board.

“How Fox’s executives and board handled the case in the months before the trial was scheduled to begin is expected to be at issue in shareholder lawsuits filed against the company in Delaware,” the Times reported. “Though Mr. Carlson’s show, ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight,’ was only a small factor in the Dominion suit, his personal texts were drawing outsize scrutiny.”

Shortly after the Dominion lawsuit was settled, Carlson was ousted. A Fox News source told Breitbart News an important meeting involving the Murdochs and potentially Paul Ryan occurred at Fox after the settlement that led to Carlson’s ouster.

“After the Dominion settlement, there was clearly a meeting at the network—I don’t know if it was a board meeting or just the Murdochs, but someone made a decision—and said these two are the biggest threats to the network and they don’t listen to anyone,” the source told Breitbart News about Carlson and Dan Bongino.

The Dominion settlement, along with additional legal exposure, changed the board’s outlook on Carlson and ultimately led to his ouster. The Murdochs were rattled, sources told Breitbart News.

Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.