Just when it seems the Hulk Hogan news is starting to come to a halt, something new breaks. This time, it has to do with Hogan allegedly making conflicting statements under oath .
The National Enquirer , which originally broke the story last month regarding Hogan’s racist rant on a 2006 sex-tape, is also the source of this latest story. W e can’t give full credence to this latest claim being accurate until it is fully verified by other outside sources. However, due to Enquirer breaking the racial rant story, Inquisitr felt this latest claim was worth covering.
The Enquirer’s story alleging that Hogan committed perjury appears sensationalist in nature, using a headline about possible jail time for Hogan due to the alleged incident. According to Dave Meltzer at the Wrestling Observer , possible jail time for Hogan in this case is a stretch, at best.
According to the Enquirer report, Hogan made the conflicting statements to lawyers from Gawker and to the FBI. Should this accusation be accurate, Hogan would be guilty of perjury or obstruction of justice, with those charges dependent on Hogan’s lying under oath taking place in a statement to the FBI or to lawyers.
According to Seth Berlin, attorney for Gawker , Hogan made statements while under oath to the FBI that were “directly at odds” with statements made by Hogan during a deposition. Berlin stated these findings on July 2, 2015.
This latest twist in the Hogan-saga is an interesting pivot to the ongoing conflict between Hogan and Gawker that began with the website allegedly releasing a 2006 sex tape featuring Hogan and his then-lover Heather Clem (the wife of Hogan’s friend, Bubba the Love Sponge). Hogan is suing Gawker for releasing the tape, which was secretly filmed by Clem and her husband without Hogan’s knowledge.
It was due to this ongoing lawsuit that racist statements made by Hogan during the sex tape began to leak to the media last month. Hogan alleges that Gawker leaked the comments he made on the video to the media, while Gawker denies this claim .
A story that originally centered on the potential of Hogan possibly putting the famous website Gawker out of business has now pivoted into a story focused on Hogan’s non-politically correct statements putting his future in the wrestling business at odds. WWE released Hulk Hogan on Friday, July 24.
The saga between Hulk Hogan and Gawker will likely be drawn out for at least another year or possibly much longer. The judge for the trial recently moved its start date back to March 2016, just before WrestleMania 32 . Hogan had previously been campaigning for a match at next year’s WrestleMania , though the odds that Hogan will ever wrestle for WWE again appear to be almost nil.
WWE owner Vince McMahon recently commented on Hulk Hogan during a conference call with the media, saying that his exit from the company will have no material effect on their business.
McMahon further added, “We’re interested in individuals who can actually compete in the ring.”
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