Fox News argues that Tucker Carlson isn't obligated to check if statements are true before reporting them

According to a lawyer for Fox News, network host Tucker Carlson is not obligated to investigate the truth claims he make on his show, The Hollywood Reporter reports.

The network is being sued by Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model who received a $150,000 payment from the National Enquirer in connection with her alleged affair with Donald Trump before he was president.

McDougal claims Carlson defamed her and accused her of a crime when he claimed two women "approached Donald Trump and threatened to ruin his career and humiliate his family if he doesn't give them money," adding that it was a "classic case of extortion."

"Fox News wants U.S. District Court Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil to toss the complaint, arguing both that nothing Carlson said is defamatory because it can't be interpreted as stating actual facts and that McDougal can't prove he acted with malice which she must do to succeed on her claims because she's a public figure," THR reports.

Read the full report over at The Hollywood Reporter.