NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - Fox News host Tucker Carlson's hyperbolic opinion cannot be characterized as sober factual reporting, the network argues as it seeks the dismissal of a slander suit filed by a woman who claims to have been the longtime mistress of President Donald Trump.
Karen McDougal claims she was slandered by Carlson during a late 2018 segment on his "Tucker Carlson Tonight" show during which he accused her "extorting" $150,000 from Trump. She filed suit against the Fox News Network in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
In a memorandum supporting a motion to dismiss, the network on Feb. 14 described the action as "an attempt to silence spirited opinion commentary on matters of public concern." It noted that the news was dominated by claims that the president had funneled hush money to two women and that these payments may have violated campaign finance laws.
"Carlson accepted as true the facts as reported by others and posited that the two women (whom he did not name) had 'extorted' money and obtained 'ransom' payments from Trump," according to the motion to dismiss. "Carlson’s statements are covered by the First Amendment privilege that protects statements of opinion relating to matters of public concern that do not contain provably false factual assertions."
Further, the complaint, filed by a public figure, "fails to allege that Carlson’s statements were made with actual malice," that is knowledge that they were false or made with reckless disregard. Plaintiff’s suit "turns on an attempt to characterize Carlson’s hyperbolic opinion commentary as sober factual reporting," the filing read.
The statements made by the cable television host were opinions on reported facts and no reasonable viewer would conclude that Carlson was saying the plaintiff literally engaged in the criminal act of extortion, the memo states.
In a response to the motion to dismiss, McDougal argues that her complaint "persuasively alleged" that Carlson intentionally and falsely accused her of committing a crime and that it was allegedly motivated because of his support for, and to "curry favor" with, the president.
Further, Carlson is accused of stating that it was an "undisputed fact" that McDougal committed the criminal act.
"(W)e allege Carlson wanted to spread misinformation at a time when Congress considered impeaching the President over hush-money payments made to Plaintiff and whether the President could be indicted for campaign finance violations," McDougal's attorneys wrote.