Staff Reports
The cancellation of Tucker Carlson’s Fox News program on April 24 has sparked widespread speculation as to the cause. Some believe this may be related to Dominion Voting Systems’ recently resolved defamation lawsuit against Fox News. While Fox’s attorneys have verified that Dominion did not demand Carlson’s dismissal, a recent undercover video from O’Keefe Media Group casts doubt on their assertion. A “Fox News at Night Producer” claims in the video that Tucker’s termination was part of the settlement. This theory is supported by former Fox News prime-time anchor Bill O’Reilly.
Is This the 'Forbidden Monologue' Tucker Carlson Planned to Give the Day Fox Ousted Him? https://t.co/XpedCjVa06
— Lois Levine Fishman (@FishmanLevine) June 11, 2023
Tucker planned to comment on a 60 Minutes interview with Ray Epps regarding his participation in the January 6 uprising, according to O’Reilly. Epps was also captured on camera urging protesters to enter the Capitol building. Carlson’s last diatribe, according to Carlson biographer Chadwick Moore, focused on January 6th and Ray Epps. O’Reilly claimed this was an attempt to set up Epps for a massive lawsuit against Fox News and Tucker Carlson, and many believe this was the reason for Carlson’s termination.
Despite these rumors, journalist Emerald Robinson published on Substack a transcript of what Carlson intended to say on his final program. Carlson began by describing how Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki have repeatedly demanded his cancellation and criticized his right to free speech.
Carlson then transitioned to the primary topic of his monologue, which was the Ray Epps question. Carlson believes that the Democrats’ characterization of January 6th as an insurrection is false, as no one has been charged with an insurrection-related offense and it has been more than two and a half years since the event.
Carlson added that a disturbance broke out in the Capitol while a Capitol police officer, Michael Byrd, executed an unarmed protestor, Ashli Babbit, outside the building. Carlson was offended by the unrest and demanded that lawbreakers be held accountable. Carlson believes that the contemporaneous videotape contains clues regarding the origin of the violence. According to him, the night before the disturbance, Ray Epps was captured on camera encouraging protesters to storm the Capitol.
The following day, as the violence escalated, Epps was filmed doing the same thing. While Carlson does not know whether or not Epps’ actions were legal, he believes that any reasonable person would characterize what Ray Epps said to the crowd on January 6 as inciting violence. Carlson believes that Epps should be punished for inciting violence according to the standard set by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Tucker Carlson’s dismissal represents a significant loss for conservative voices in mainstream media. Carlson was not afraid to express his truth, which some may find controversial, but he represents the silenced voices of many conservatives. Carlson may or may not receive a new platform, but his fans are hopeful that he will return shortly.
