Tucker Carlson is shutting down a political action committee that wants him to run for president.
The recently-fired Fox News host sent a cease-and-desist letter to "Draft Tucker PAC," a group that ran ads on Newsmax calling on Carlson to run for president.
The letter, obtained by Mediaite, made clear that the far-right wing TV personality "will not run for President in 2024 under any circumstances." It also accused the PAC of "defrauding his supporters" by using his name and likeness to raise money without permission.
"It has come to Mr. Carlson's attention that you are soliciting contributions and donor contact information from the public by representing that the funds will be used to draft Mr. Tucker to run for President in 2024," Carlson's lawyer Harmeet Dhillon wrote in the letter.
"Mr. Carlson is not now, and will not under any circumstances be, a candidate for President in the 2024 election," Dhillon continued. "Mr. Tucker unequivocally disavows your activities. Therefore, your efforts to raise money for a 'draft' committee are a waste of your time and the money of every donor to your committee, as you are on notice that these funds will not, in fact, be used for the purpose stated. Nor will the data you are collecting under false pretenses be used for the stated purpose."
Dhillon then threatened the PAC with legal action.
"Mr. Carlson does not want his supporters to be fooled into sending their hard-earned money and contact information to a project run in his name that he does not support and that has no chance of succeeding in its stated aims," she wrote. "If you do not voluntarily stop your 'Draft Tucker' effort, we will use every legal option to prevent the misappropriation of Mr. Carlson's name, likeness, and image, and to protect his supporters from fraud."
"If you do not immediately cease and desist your efforts to solicit money to 'draft' Mr. Carlson, we will use every legal means at our disposal to vindicate his rights and protect his supporters from these misrepresentations," she wrote.
Dhillon made similar comments on Twitter in response to a video shared by the now-deleted "Draft Tucker PAC" account, saying, "As Tucker's attorney, I can unequivocally state that this PAC is unauthorized, that the people running it didn't get his permission to use his name/likeness, and that it would be fruitless to contribute to such a PAC."
On Monday, Dhillon warned Carlson's supporters that it was "SCAM PAC season."
"Everyone who donates to this frivolous and transparently self-serving attempt by total strangers to collect money and donor data using Tucker's name and likeness, is getting ripped off and will probably get their name on a list for endless political donation pitches on behalf of some other candidate," she tweeted.
The letter worked -- the Draft Tucker PAC had its ads pulled and ceased operations immediately.
Although Carlson has said he had no intentions to launch a campaign for the White House, the PAC described him as "the last GREAT American" and urged supporters to donate $10 to $250 "if you are ready for a Tucker Carlson Presidency," with links redirecting to the RNC-endorsed WinRed fundraising website, according to Newsweek.
In a statement to The Hill, Draft Tucker PAC spokesman and GOP consultant Charlie Kolean said it was asked to cease all activities on Carlson's behalf and that it would honor that request.
"We wish Tucker the best and profoundly hope he will not be silenced in this crucial presidential cycle," Kolean said.
Chris Ekstrom, the PAC's chairman, also told The Hill that the effort had raised just $212, which would be returned to donors.
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