John Terenzio, an LA television consultant claims that former Vice President Al Gore and others, stole his idea to sell Current TV to Al Jazeera. Terenzio is demanding more than $5 million in a lawsuit filed in San Francisco Superior Court on Tuesday, according to the Associated Press.
Al Jazeera announced it acquired Current TV, buying it for $500 million, on January 3.
Terenzio alleges he first brought the idea of the Al Jazeera purchase to board member Richard Blum in July, expecting to be paid if his plan was used. The lawsuit claims that Blum was open to the plan, which Terenzio laid out with a detailed PowerPoint presentation, but feared Gore would find such a deal with the oil-rich Arab government of Qatar as "politically unappealing."
Gore, Blum, nor any of their representatives, could be reached for comment as of late Wednesday, according to the AP. Blum, a venture capitalist and husband of California Democratic Senator Diane Feinstein, is also an investor in Current TV. Gore co-founded Current TV in 2005.
Terenzio claims he presented Blum "a step-by-step approach for making the sale of the liberal media outlet to Al-Jazeera palatable to U.S. lawmakers, pro-Israel factions, cable operators and, most importantly, the American public."
"Blum greeted Terenzio's proposal with enthusiasm, indicating that he and other investors were eager to salvage their multi-million investment in the floundering cable network," the lawsuit claims.
At the time, according to Terenzio, Gore was "adamant" in rejecting the plan, and when Al Jazeera made the announcement of the sale, it was first time he heard of it, the AP reported.
