ABC sources said the broadcaster is considering a response to what it believes is a further attack on its independence,after the letter posed questions including"Why,in the judgement of the Board,are the personal lives of politicians newsworthy?"
TheFour Corners episode titled"Inside the Canberra Bubble",which aired on November 9,detailed allegations of inappropriate conduct and extramarital affairs by Attorney-General Christian Porter and Population Minister Alan Tudge with female ministerial staffers.
ABC sources said Mr Fletcher's decision to publicly release the letter,whichhe tweeted on Tuesday morning,coincided with the ABC board holding their final meeting for the year.
In an interview on ABC radio on Tuesday evening,Mr Fletcher said one of his senior advisers contacted an ABC board member about the episode before it went to air,but rejected that it was an attempt to lobby the board about the program.
"There was a conversation about it and there's nothing irregular about that,"Mr Fletcher said.
"My senior staff,as do I,speak very regularly with directors and senior executives of the ABC and other media organisations."
The strained relationship between the government and the public broadcaster comes as Mr Fletcher is expected to soon announce two new ABC board members to fill vacancies created by deputy chair Kirstin Ferguson and Donny Walford,whose terms finished last month.