Is it hot in here, or is it just Al Gore’s insatiable greed?
Al Jazeera, the pan-Arab TV news network controlled by the Qatari royal family, confirmed Friday it’s been sued by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and other shareholders of the defunct cable news network Current TV over a financial dispute stemming from the sale of Current.
Al Jazeera agreed to pay about $500 million to buy Current last year, stripped it of its content and relaunched it as Al Jazeera America, its news arm that focuses on the U.S.
“Al Jazeera America wants to give itself a discount on the purchase price that was agreed to nearly two years ago,” David Boies, the attorney who represents Gore, said in a statement obtained by Bloomberg News. “We are asking the court to order Al Jazeera America to stop wrongfully withholding the escrow funds that belong to Current’s former shareholders.”
You’d think that these fellow travelers could work something out without going to court. But nothing gets between Al Gore and his money. Not the truth, not the concept of shame, and especially not a bunch of oil-rich Qatari jerks.
Wouldn’t it be great if Al Gore bankrupted Al Jazeera? What a perfect capper to the pathetic saga of Current TV. Hundreds of millions of dollars later, even the few people who actually watched it have forgotten it.
(Hat tip: Twitchy)