Bernard Gugar, the Fox News attorney who warned former TV personality Tucker Carlson against launching his own web show on the social platform X (formerly Twitter), will be leaving the company in August.
No reason was given for Gugar’s departure, which comes a little more than three years after he was hired away from Google to join Fox News Media as its General Counsel and Executive Vice President of Corporate Development.
“My decision to step down was a difficult one, but I’m grateful to everyone at Fox News Media for an incredibly rewarding experience and wish the network nothing but continued success,” Gugar said in a statement.
In a statement, Fox News Media President Suzanne Scott said the network thanked “Bernard for his incredibly hard work and extensive contributions over the last three years and wish him the best of luck in his next role.” Katherine Meeks, a journalist and civil litigator who most recently worked at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, will succeed Gugar in mid-August.
Gugar started with the company shortly after it was named as a defendant in a defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems over election-related misinformation that was broadcast by some Fox News commentators and guests around and after the 2020 presidential election.
Fox settled the case last year for $787.5 million, without admitting any wrongdoing. Two weeks later, the company parted ways with Tucker Carlson, who hosted the network’s highest-rated prime-time commentary show.
Carlson later announced his intention to launch an online show through X, the Elon Musk-owned social media platform, which drew a strong rebuke from Fox News. In a letter sent to Carlson’s representatives, Gugar accused the former host of violating his still-in-effect employment contract with Fox. The letter hinted that the network might sue if Carlson moved forward with his show.
Carlson’s show, “Tucker on Twitter,” launched anyway. Fox has not challenged the matter in court.
