A new report appears to cast additional light on why Fox News decided to remove its most popular personality from the airwaves late last month.

According to a report by RadarOnline.com, network executives informed Tucker Carlson that he was being fired as part of Fox News’ $787.5 million defamation settlement with Dominion Voting Systems.

“In the latest development to come three weeks after Carlson was removed from his role at the network on April 24, it has been reported that one of Fox Corp.’s eight board members was the one to tell the fired host that his ‘recent benching’ was the result of the secret condition in the Dominion settlement,” the outlet reported.

The report continued: “According to Variety, the conversation between Carlson and the board member took place on April 26 – two days after the network announced Carlson’s involuntary departure from the company. The board member also reportedly told Carlson that the secret condition ensuring Carlson’s canning would not be found in any of the $787.5 million defamation settlement documents because it was a verbal agreement.”

RadarOnline.com reported that if the network did not consent to these terms, Dominion’s attorneys were prepared to call off the settlement, restart negotiations, or take the case to trial.

“That condition was intended to hurt Fox, and Tucker is just collateral damage,” a source familiar with the rumored secret agreement told Variety. “Dominion wanted to punish Fox, and it’s working.”

But RadarOnline.com added that officials with the voting systems firm denied any secret arrangement had been made. “As the Fox principals who negotiated the settlement well know, Dominion made no demands about Tucker Carlson’s employment orally or in writing,” Dominion said in a statement to the outlet.

“Any claims otherwise are categorically false and a thinly veiled effort to further damage Dominion,” the firm noted further. “Fox should take every effort to stop these lies immediately.”

During an interview with Chris Cuomo of News Nation earlier this month, former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly argued that he believes Tucker Carlson was dismissed because the network is facing a slew of lawsuits related to the 2020 presidential election.

Abby Grossberg, a former Fox News booker, has also filed a lawsuit against the network.

“Because the pending litigation was harpooned this morning. Carlson didn’t know. It just happened. And that’s the nature of television news, the most wicked industry in the United States of America,” O’Reilly said.

“Tucker Carlson took over from me. For the first three years, his ratings were soft. He lost about a million, maybe a little bit more of my audience, and then in 2020, he took a hard right turn,” O’Reilly said. “Carlson basically programmed for a very hard right audience, and his numbers came up.”

Soon after the announcement of Carlson’s dismissal, reports cast light on the ultimate decision-maker.

Lachlan Murdoch, the chief executive officer of Fox Corporation, and Suzanne Scott, the chief executive officer of Fox News Media, decided on Friday night to terminate Tucker Carlson, according to a new report.

More on this story via Conservative Brief:

Scott informed Carlson on Monday morning of the decision. CONTINUE READING…