Gawker Filing Suit to Obtain Ailes-Christie Communications

By Alex Weprin 

Gossip blog Gawker and the American Civil Liberties Union plan to file a civil suit against the Governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, to try and obtain communications between the Governor and Fox News CEO Roger Ailes.

The suit was spurred on by Gawker’s John Cook, who has made Fox News–and Ailes in particular–a regular target for items, with subjects ranging from 911 records to 70’s-era Nixon documents.

Cook attempted to obtain communications earlier this year, but the Governors office declined, saying that they would be exempt under executive privilege.

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To Mr. Cook, this was an implication that Mr. Ailes is a confidential adviser to Mr. Christie. After he said so in an article, the New Jersey chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union approached him and offered to take the case.

The lawsuit to be filed on Monday states, “A strong public interest exists in knowing whether the executive in charge of the nation’s most-watched cable news channel is acting as a political consultant to a prospective Republican presidential candidate.”

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