Fox News on Friday asked lawyers for Dominion Voting Systems to investigate whether they leaked controversial internal messages from ousted Fox host Tucker Carlson that were provided in evidence for their recent defamation lawsuit.

The requests, which were made in letters released by Fox, came after multiple news outlets published racist and sexist remarks by Carlson contained in leaked internal messages and recordings.

U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday, in a possible preview of a 2024 presidential campaign theme, attacked news outlets he said used "lies told for profit and power" to stir up hatred, as he coupled his remarks with pointed jokes about Fox News.

Speaking at the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner, Biden referred to "truth buried by lies," in an apparent reference to false conspiracy theories that his 2020 election win was the result of a massive voter fraud.

Tucker Carlson’s sudden departure from Fox News was so unexpected, the channel was running commercials promoting his show Monday morning. There are some facts you should have in mind when attempting to make sense of Carlson’s departure.

Tucker Carlson’s sudden exit from Fox News rattled the media and political spheres on Monday.  

The departure raises questions about the future of Fox, the GOP and conservatism, and for the longtime host himself.  

Here are some takeaways following the Monday morning shocker:  

It deprives Fox of its biggest star 

Carlson has been the network’s A-lister on the commentary side no matter how you slice it.  

When Fox settled the defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million, the conventional wisdom was that it would alter little about the way Fox News operates. “Don’t Expect Fox News to Change After Massive Dominion Payout,” said a Vanity Fair headline. “Will Fox Settlement Alter Conservative Media? Apparently Not,” said The Associated Press.

Tucker Carlson, the provocative, conservative prime-time host who sustained Fox News as a ratings juggernaut, has been forced out of the network.

Fox News announced the stunning departure of its top-rated host Monday with no explanation, but people familiar with the situation who were not authorized to comment publicly said the decision to fire Carlson came straight from Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch with input from board members and other Fox Corp. executives.

Fox News crossed a big, potentially embarrassing showdown with Dominion Voting Systems off its list of legal troubles this week with a $787.5 million pretrial settlement, but the conservative network faces more court challenges ahead.

Most notably, a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit from Smartmatic USA, which largely echoes Dominion’s claims that it was irreparably harmed by lies spread on the network during coverage of the 2020 presidential election.

The most anticipated media trial of recent years was averted at the last minute Tuesday, when Dominion Voting Systems settled the defamation case it had brought against Fox News.

Dominion had been seeking $1.6 billion in damages. The company argued that its business had been badly hurt by conspiracy theories around the 2020 election — theories that, Dominion contended, had been advanced on Fox shows even though key people at the network knew them to be false.

The voting technology company and Fox ultimately settled on Tuesday, for $787.5 million.