Hulk Hogan Sex Tape Lawsuit Update: FBI Reveals Three DVDs Exist, Hogan Trying To Keep Video Private

The latest development in Terry "Hulk Hogan" Bollea's lawsuit against Gawker for publishing excerpts of a sex tape with shot without his permission was revealed in documents filed in court on Friday. With Gawker having won their lawsuit against the FBI, allowing them access to the records of the investigation of the origins of the video, the FBI didn't deliver the records as ordered. Instead, they filed an "emergency motion for reconsideration, or, in the alternative, for an extension of time."

The reasoning given is that in the DVDs that the FBI acquired as part of the investigation, there's a third party (not Hogan or the former Heather Clem) that they don't have any kind of waiver from. With that in mind, they need to redact audio of anything he said from the videos. A footnote states that "Last night, [Gawker] provided counsel for the FBI with a 'Rights Transfer Agreement' between Mr. Hogan and Todd Alan Clem, also known as Bubba the Love Spunge, which plaintiff believes is the third-party in the videos. However, the FBI does not believe this agreement is a privacy waiver under the FOIA." The FBI had also not worked on gathering (and redacting when necessary) the 1,000+ pages of documents yet, meaning they couldn't comply on two days' notice.

In this same filing, it's also stated that "according to the FBI, there are three different videos of Mr. Hogan and Mrs. Clem." An exhibit in support of the motion describes the videos this way:

* "DVD video recording of Heather Clem and Terry Bollea engaged in sexual relations. A third party, who is not deceased nor has provided a privacy waiver to the plaintiff, speaks briefly to borth Heather Clem and Terry Bollea and then exits, within the first minute of the recording." (This description matches the video that Gawker received and posted)

* "DVD video recording of Heather Clem and Terry Bollea engaged in sexual relations. A third party, who is not deceased nor has provided a privacy waiver to the plaintiff, speaks partly in the recording."

* "DVD video recording of Heather Clem and Terry Bollea engaged in sexual relations. A third party, who is not deceased nor has provided a privacy waiver to the plaintiff, appears throughout this recording."

There are also two audio CDs in the case file. The FBI is requesting a 30 day extension to provide those since it's more of an involved process to analyze and properly redact them. The CDs are described as:

* "CD audio recording of a third party speaking about the Terry Bollea case."

* "CD audio recording of an [sic] FBI Special Agent, [Hogan's attorney} David Houston, and third parties."

Gawker released the following statement in light of the new information:

The FBI's tapes and documents should help answer a number of questions relevant to Hulk Hogan's lawsuit ? whether there are still more sex tapes out there, who was taping and why and who all knew about it. We always want to get to the bottom of every story, and now we're a step closer to knowing the full truth here.

Meanwhile, Benjamin Mullin of Poynter.org reported that in the Hogan-Gawker case that's going to trial in about a week and a half, Hogan has filed a motion to close the courtroom when the video (the one Gawker received and posted) is screened. The motion says that the general public should not see "the explicit imagery that invaded his most intimate privacy," arguing that it may be "offensive to certain persons in the gallery." In addition, "The very essence of Mr. Bollea's claims is that his privacy was invaded by Gawker's posting online on Gawker.com, video and audio footage showing Mr. Bollea naked and engaged in sexual intercourse."

Gawker responded to the motion (as well as others from the Hogan side wishing to exclude certain pieces of evidence), saying that Hogan's side is trying to frame the case "in a fictional vacuum where everyone pretends that critical evidence does not exist," Gawker also asserted that barring the gallery and press from seeing the video violated their right to due process, arguing that "A trial is not a lightly scripted reality television show with a contrived 'Father Knows Best' ending. The courtroom is not a professional wrestling ring with a predetermined 'world wrestling champion.'"

Hogan attorney Charles J. Harder told Poynter.org that his plan was not for the judge to clear the courtroom, but for the monitors playing the video to be pointed only at the judge, jury, and lawyers. That said, Hogan's side is also fighting to keep the video from being played at trial in the first place. A number of media companies plan to join Gawker in their motion on the basis that Florida courts are open to the public with press serving as their proxies.