{"id":10451,"date":"2013-08-27T16:48:51","date_gmt":"2013-08-27T23:48:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=10451"},"modified":"2013-08-27T16:48:51","modified_gmt":"2013-08-27T23:48:51","slug":"the-plot-thickens-fired-fox-news-exec-fires-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=10451","title":{"rendered":"The Plot Thickens: Fired Fox News Exec Fires Back"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"RogerLast week news broke that Fox News Executive VP of Communications, Brian Lewis, was terminated and escorted from the building by security. Vague charges of “financial irregularities”<\/em> were asserted, but without specifics.<\/p>\n

The termination was quickly followed by what appeared to be a coordinated smear campaign by Fox personnel, both in the office suites and on the air. It was suspiciously hostile treatment for a top aide to Fox CEO Roger Ailes, who had been with the network since it’s inception. This lead to speculation that the reasons for Lewis’ departure were likely different than those the company was offering.<\/p>\n

[Read our previous story<\/a> detailing the circumstances of Lewis’ departure and an alternative explanation for the separation]<\/em><\/p>\n

Now Gawker is reporting<\/a> that Lewis has retained a high-powered attorney, Judd Burstein, and the tone of his public introduction suggests that some fireworks will be part of the battle between Lewis and Fox:<\/p>\n

Burstein:<\/strong> I have just been retained and am still plotting our course of action. But two things are very clear to me. First, Brian Lewis no longer has any confidentiality obligation to Newscorp or Roger Ailes because of the false and malicious statements made by Fox to date. Second, Roger Ailes and Newscorp have a lot more to fear from Brian Lewis telling the truth about them than Brian Lewis has to fear from Roger Ailes and his toadies telling lies about Brian Lewis.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Yee-friggen-Haw! This sounds like it’s gonna be fun. The statement that any obligation of confidentiality is now moot is a blow across the bow of Fox News. It means that they know stuff and they’re willing to talk. It means that they are disputing the allegations of financial malfeasance, which means that there is another reason for the unceremonious sacking. And the frank language that casts Ailes and his henchmen as “toadies”<\/em> is a clear indication that they mean business.<\/p>\n

Fasten your seat belts. It’s gonna be bumpy ride.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week news broke that Fox News Executive VP of Communications, Brian Lewis, was terminated and escorted from the building by security. Vague charges of “financial irregularities” were asserted, but without specifics. The termination was quickly followed by what appeared to be a coordinated smear campaign by Fox personnel, both in the office suites and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"The Plot Thickens: Fired #FoxNews Exec Fires Back","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[33,143],"class_list":["post-10451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","tag-fox-news","tag-roger-ailes"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4Ijg-2Iz","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10415,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=10415","url_meta":{"origin":10451,"position":0},"title":"Cloak And Dagger: Why Did Fox News Fire Roger Ailes’ Right-Hand Man?","author":"Mark NC","date":"8\/22\/2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Last month Brian Lewis was quietly escorted from the Fox News offices by security personnel. It is only now becoming known that this long-time employee was terminated under suspicious circumstances. The statement from Fox News said that Lewis, Fox's Executive VP of Communications, was... \"...terminated for cause, specifically for issues\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":31319,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=31319","url_meta":{"origin":10451,"position":1},"title":"Blackmailing Fox News: Does Donald Trump Have Dirt On Roger Ailes?","author":"Mark NC","date":"4\/4\/2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Ever since Donald Trump entered the Republican contest for the party's nomination for president he has been a constant presence on Fox News. Studies of the distribution of airtime have shown that Trump's allocation has far exceeded every other candidate. The estimated value of this gift to Trump's candidacy is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Election"","block_context":{"text":"Election","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=152"},"img":{"alt_text":"Donald Trump Roger Ailes","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/trump-ailes-bitch2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/trump-ailes-bitch2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/trump-ailes-bitch2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":25118,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=25118","url_meta":{"origin":10451,"position":2},"title":"The Fox News Primary: CNN On Kissing Rupert’s Ring And Other Body Parts","author":"Mark NC","date":"2\/1\/2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Sunday morning's media analysis program on CNN, Reliable Sources, aired a segment (video below) that exposed the overtly partisan promotion of Republican candidates on Fox News. The obvious biases that infect the network's programming have long been known to anyone paying attention, and the necessity to win the favor of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Election"","block_context":{"text":"Election","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=152"},"img":{"alt_text":"Fox News Primary","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/foxnews-primary-cnn.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/foxnews-primary-cnn.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/foxnews-primary-cnn.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":29281,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=29281","url_meta":{"origin":10451,"position":3},"title":"Lewis Black Endorsed Donald Trump For President In 2012 – And It Was Hysterical","author":"Mark NC","date":"7\/25\/2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The rants of Lewis Black are brilliant because they say so much that so many of us wish we could scream. Just watching him is cathartic therapy that brings near instant relief from the insanity of the day. So it was fortunate that I stumbled upon one of Black's most\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Election"","block_context":{"text":"Election","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=152"},"img":{"alt_text":"Donald Trump Lewis Black","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/trump-lewis-black.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/trump-lewis-black.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/trump-lewis-black.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5458,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=5458","url_meta":{"origin":10451,"position":4},"title":"The Sorry Truth About Roger Ailes And Fox News","author":"Mark NC","date":"9\/29\/2011","format":false,"excerpt":"A few days ago Howard Kurtz of Newsweek published an article profiling Roger Ailes, the CEO of Fox News. It was revealing of both Kurtz and Ailes. The first sign that Kurtz was either unconscious or delusional was when he offered this description of Ailes' allegedly changing moods: \"[A]s President\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4501,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=4501","url_meta":{"origin":10451,"position":5},"title":"Understatement Of The Year: Sarah Palin Is An Idiot","author":"Mark NC","date":"5\/23\/2011","format":false,"excerpt":"In an article published in New York Magazine, Roger Ailes, CEO of Fox News is reported to have told colleagues that he thinks Sarah Palin is an idiot and unhelpful to the conservative movement. Really? Gosh, we never knew. But to be fair, there was a lot more of interest\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10451"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10451\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10453,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10451\/revisions\/10453"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}