Less than 24 hours after Gawker's mole Joe Muto was identified and suspended from his job at Fox News, the website reports that Fox is threatening both Muto and Gawker with civil and criminal charges.

In a letter to Gawker publisher Nick Denton, Fox News's lawyers demand that the site "immediately stop publishing information and videos that have been unlawfully obtained by or from Joe Muto, and return them to Fox News." It also says that Gawker should "immediately take all necessary steps to preserve all documents and information related to its hire and employment" of Muto.

The letter was posted on Gawker this afternoon, accompanied by a photo of a young Bill O'Reilly with a topless lady, which is presumably part of Muto's loot.