Tucker Carlson Fakes Keith Olbermann, Breaks NY Law

Apparently having nothing better to do now that his website The Daily Caller reached 1.5 million visitors per month (Hey Tucker, you're in striking distance of Zennie62.com, so watch out) , Couch-Potato Conservative Columnist and TV Pundit Tucker Carlson decided to play "Fake Keith Olbermann" and send angry emails to a Philadelphia Daily News columnist Stu Bykofsky last weekend. (Thankfully Carlson didn't go after Walgreens CEO and Walgreens CFO for a "Health Care Reform-friendly" business model, instead.)

Tucker planned to establish that ability back in July of this year, when he purchased Olbermann's domain name, taking advantage of the fact that Keith and his people at MSNBC would be so careless as to leave a domain name that should be owned by him available for just anyone to buy.

Then, when Keith was suspended by MSNBC President Phil Griffin last Friday, Carlson pounced.

Bykofsky innocently used the email keith@keitholbermann.com to contact the person he thought was Keith, only to unknowingly get Carlson, who was in a mood to clown around.

Carlson, posing as Olbermann, had written a series of biting emails in response to a column Stu wrote that concluded FOX News' Bill O'Reilly was more "fair and balanced" than the real Keith Olbermann.  Here's a sample of the emails exchanged:

——– Original Message ——–

Subject: [SPAM] From the Philadelphia Daily News

From: “Bykofsky, Stu”

Date: Fri, November 05, 2010 1:44 pm

To:

Mr. Olbermann:

I’d like an opportunity to speak to you about your current situation.

I am doing a column for publication Monday. I will be here until 6 p.m., but won’t finish until 1 p.m. tomorrow.

If you would rather respond via email, what I want to know, essentially, is the following:

Do you think you were treated fairly by MSNBC?

Do you consider yourself a journalist or a commentator?

If a journalist, is it proper for you to give your opinions?

If a commentator, should you be anchoring a newscast, such as Tuesday night’s election program?

Do you regret chastising others (Rupert Murdoch) for making political donations?

Is there a difference between what he did and what you did?

Thank you.

Stu Bykofsky

Columnist

Philadelphia Daily News

215-854-5977

From: keith@keitholbermann.com [mailto:keith@keitholbermann.com]

Sent: Monday, November 08, 2010 2:46 PM

To: Bykofsky, Stu

Subject: RE: [SPAM] From the Philadelphia Daily News

Mr. Bykofsky:

Unfortunately your column (which I just saw) had already run before I read this email. What a shame. I assume you saw the irony in attacking someone for betraying journalism, while you, a self-described journalist, failed to get a single quote from the person you were attacking. Pathetic. Indeed, beneath contempt. How dare you pose as the heir to Murrow.

You didn’t wait for the facts before writing your screed, but for what it’s worth I, unlike you, am a journalist, not a hack. Was I treated fairly by MSNBC? It’s hard to imagine a dumber question, as I don’t work for MSNBC, but for NBC News. As I’ve said publicly before, Phil Griffin is not my boss (thank god), nor is he intellectually qualified to be. Phil pretends otherwise in public. I’m not his shrink, but I assume it makes him feel better. The remarkable thing is that fools like you believe his fantasies. That pleases Phil, but only exposes your ignorance. The proof? I’ll be anchoring on election night 2012, long after Phil Griffin has moved on to a job for which he’s actually qualified, perhaps on QVC.

I hope that clears up your misconceptions.

KO

You get the idea.

It goes on and the exchange is posted at the blog site Phawker. But the bottom line, as Stu admitted over at Phawker, he'd been punked.

And Carlson's little stunt appears to be illegal. Stu uses the text from, then link to a legal website by Lisa J. Sotto of Hunton & Williams, and informing that New York State made Internet impersonation a crime in 2008:

Specifically, New York’s Internet impersonation law amends section 190.25 of the Penal Law by adding Subdivision 4, making it a crime to impersonate another person by electronic means, including through use of a website, with the intent to obtain a benefit or injure or defraud another person.

But even with that information, neither Stu, nor Keith has said they would file charges against Tucker Carlson.

Stay tuned.