STORY: Fox News has asked lawyers for Dominion Voting Systems to investigate whether they leaked controversial internal messages from ousted Fox host Tucker Carlson that were provided in evidence for their recent defamation lawsuit.

The requests, which were made in letters released by Fox on Friday, came after multiple news outlets published racist and sexist remarks by Carlson contained in leaked internal messages and recordings.

As per court orders and the terms of the network's $787.5 million settlement last month - that Fox defamed Dominion by airing false election-rigging claims - the material was to remain confidential.

Now, Fox has requested that Dominion's lawyers “immediately make an investigation into the circumstances” and report the findings by the end of Monday.

Dominion has denied the materials came from the company or any of its lawyers.

Meanwhile, Fox is seeking to contain the public relations fallout from the leaks.

The network on Friday sent a letter to the left-leaning watchdog group Media Matters demanding that it cease publishing leaked footage of Carlson on set.

In response, Media Matters said in a statement that "reporting on newsworthy leaked material is a cornerstone of journalism" and that it was "absurd" for Fox to argue otherwise.

Carlson, a staple of primetime cable news and Fox's biggest star, was abruptly fired just days after the Fox settlement with Dominion

Media outlets including the New York Times reported that the decision came after Fox's board saw Carlson's internal messages.