Update on Hulk Hogan sex tape lawsuit, Gawker files lawsuit against FBI?
In the issue regarding the Terry "Hulk Hogan" Bollea's legal battles with Gawker Media over their publication of a sex tape, The Tampa Tribune was the first outlet to report a twist in the tale.
It says that Gawker is filing a federal lawsuit against the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to release records of their investigation into the matter. Gawker is claiming that the records are essential for the defense of Hogan's lawsuit against them in state court, but the FBI has denied their most recent request on the grounds that they relate to a "pending or prospective" investigation.
But Gawker is asserting that's untrue. While their own investigation has been completed, another agency is still investigating the matter, an FBI spokesman told The Tribune.
Heather Clem, the woman with Hogan on the tape, provided a waiver to Gawker voluntarily
Gawker's side from the case is explained elaborately by publicly available filings. His initial request was denied on privacy grounds. Heather Clem, the wife of Todd "Bubba the Love Sponge" Clem was the woman with Hogan on the tape at the time it was made. She provided a waiver to Gawker voluntarily, while a judge ordered Hogan to comply. Gawker stated the following regarding the issue:
“Gawker wanted, for example, to determine whether what Hogan was telling the Agencies was consistent with his position in his lawsuit against Gawker and wanted to obtain the raw materials (video, emails, and the like) that have been determined by the Florida state court to be critical to its case.”
They were specifically looking into "the credibility of Mr. Bollea as far as his knowledge of the Clems – Mr. and Mrs. Clem's practices as far as taping or any other – the credibility of Mr. Bollea, his knowledge, his sense of taping, those kinds of things."
The tape was acquired from an unknown source
When Gawker resubmitted the request, the FBI confirmed the existence of over 1,000 pages of documents and two CDs worth of videos. FBI denied the request by claiming the investigation was ongoing, even after Gawker confirmed that they would pay the duplication costs ($50 for four CDs).
Gawker has been previously assured by the U.S. Attorney's Office that "would not be interfering in any way with any investigation if those documents were disclosed or if [it] contact[s] witnesses who may have provided information to the Government."
In the court filings, Gawker also claims that:
* They acquired the tape from an unknown source (as opposed to them knowing and just keeping him or anonymous).
* "At around the time Gawker published that report, a lawyer from Los Angeles was separately – and unbeknownst to Gawker – attempting to sell to Hogan video footage depicting him having sex with Mrs. Clem."
In the following video, Hulk Hogan speaks about his sex tape-