Don Lemon's Lawyer Accuses Megyn Kelly of 'Vendetta' Over Assault Claims Interview
A lawyer for Don Lemon has accused Megyn Kelly of presenting a "lopsided and inaccurate" interview regarding assault allegations aimed at the CNN anchor on her talk show.
In a legal letter, obtained by Radar Online and Mail Online, Lemon's attorney Caroline J. Polisi put Kelly on notice with regards to the interview she conducted with Dustin Hice on her SiriusXM radio show.
Polisi claims that Kelly allowed Hice to make "false and misleading" statements about Lemon that were "unchallenged."
Hice spoke to Kelly on Monday about accusations that Lemon assaulted him at a bar in New York in the summer of 2018, which Lemon has denied.
"For years, you have made public statements-on social media, to the press, and on your show-recklessly accusing Mr. Lemon of being biased, of lying to viewers, and of treating his guests unfairly," the letter from Polisi states.
"Although you advertise your podcast as featuring 'honest' conversations without BS' or 'agenda,' your podcast today, in which you interviewed Dustin Hice, reveals that you only pay lip service to journalistic ethics."
The legal complaint also says that Kelly should "offer your listeners a correction" for calling Hice's claims a "sexual assault," when the original complaint does not describe the alleged incident as such.
Polisi also said that "at a minimum" Kelly should have reviewed the filings on the public docket which she said "substantially undermines" Hice's credibility as well as the "outlandish story he fabricated" involving Lemon.
"You did not pose any questions to Hice about these matters, but instead, accepted his narrative wholesale, leaving your listeners with a lopsided and inaccurate understanding of Mr. Hice's allegations or the strength of the evidence he has against Mr. Lemon," Polisi wrote.
"You permitted Mr. Hice's statements to go unchallenged during your broadcast, clearly out of a vendetta you have against Mr. Lemon."
Polisi also dismissed claims by Hice during Kelly's show that CNN allegedly tried to pay him off three times to drop the suit against Lemon.
Lemon's attorney said if Kelly had reviewed the publicly-available filings in this case, she would have seen that the CNN host offered to settle Hice's claims for a nuisance value of $8,000. The offer arrived as Lemon was due to host a Democratic presidential primary debate on national television.
The legal notice then says that Hice demanded $1.5 million from Lemon in exchange for not "going public" with his claim immediately before the debate.
"Mr. Lemon refused to be blackmailed with Mr. Hice's meritless claims and declined them," Polisi wrote.
The letter also says that Hice attempted to bribe a witness to bolster his allegations.
"Lemon has presented evidence of Mr. Hice offering to bribe a witness and that he intentionally destroyed and withheld material evidence that both is directly relevant to his purported claims and that severely undermines his credibility," Polisi said.
"I hope you will correct your reckless reporting today, and the prior public statements you have made about this case—statements that demonstrated a reckless disregard for the truth and absolutely no effort on your part to try to ascertain the facts," the letter concludes.
Hice's lawsuit alleged the incident took place at a bar in Sag Harbor in July 2018.
The suit claims that Hice offered to buy the CNN host a drink, which he declined.
Lemon is then accused of "vigorously" rubbing his hands on his genitalia before shoving his fingers under Hice's nose and asking "Do you like p****y or d**k?"
In a statement at the time, CNN said: "This claim follows his unsuccessful threats and demands for an exorbitant amount of money from Don Lemon. Don categorically denies these claims and this matter does not merit any further comment."
Kelly has been contacted for comment.
