Fox pays hush money

Roger Ailes, head of Fox News, had an aide named Brian Lewis. Ailes fired Lewis a while back for "financial improrieties" and alleged contract breaches. Lewis responded by threatening to blab about what he knew concerning Fox and the way it operates. Lewis' attorney, Judd Burstein, issued this statement:

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.

Sounds like a threat to me. And it seems to have paid off:

A Fox News executive with knowledge of the negotiations told Gawker that Lewis was paid approximately $8 million in hush money.

Apparently, all of this has began with an unauthorized bio of Ailes being written by one Gabe Sherman. While still employed by Fox, Lewis seems to have assisted this book project in some way, even though others at Fox believed that the best way to handle the project was to ignore it. That disagreement (it is said) is the real reason for Lewis' firing.

Fox sources are saying that the severance would have been even larger if Lewis had any actual dirt to divulge, but I'm not sure that I buy that argument. An $8 million settlement is pretty hefty.

The idea of a "news" channel paying hush money is rather intriguing. Which skeletons, do you think, are kept closeted by that kind of money? More importantly: How can we get a glimpse of those bones?

Do any Cannonfire readers have any ideas as to just which secrets Mr. Lewis is being paid to keep? I suspect that the answer may have something to do with this.