There will be many repercussions surrounding the firing of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara. One of the biggest winners in the shakeup might just be Fox News and executive chairman Rupert Murdoch, at least according to speculation by Gabriel Sherman of New York Magazine.
It’s not just that the decision to clean the Justice Department of all Obama-era political appointees less than 24 hours after Sean Hannity said the administration should do just that. But the S.D.N.Y. had been investigating possible crimes surrounding allegations of sexual harassment by former Fox News executive Roger Ailes:
The probe, according to sources, is looking at a number of potential crimes, including whether Fox News executives broke laws by allegedly obtaining journalists’ phone records or committed mail and wire fraud by hiding financial settlements paid to women who accused Roger Ailes of sexual harassment. Sources told me that that prosecutors have been offering witnesses immunity to testify before a federal grand jury that’s already been impaneled.
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Bharara’s investigations definitely did not make him many friends, and there’s been speculation the Fox News investigation was troubling for the distinctly pro-Trump news network. Without Bharara at the helm, the pressure at Fox is likely to be much less:
Given that Fox News is Murdoch’s most profitable division, the prospect of indictments is a serious problem. “They’re really worried,” one source close to the network said. Another insider said that Fox News executives considered the investigation “political” because Bharara had been appointed by Barack Obama. Which is why, for Murdoch, it must be a relief that Bharara’s replacement could be an ally. According to the Times, Trump’s shortlist to replace Bharara includes Marc Mukasey — who just happens to be former Fox News chief Roger Ailes’s personal lawyer.
That’s right, a shortlister for the S.D.N.Y. job is Ailes’s personal attorney, Marc Mukasey. It’s like the administration is taking it’s cues on political intrigue from Scandal. The ratings must be appealing for the president.
The Big Winner in Donald Trump’s Decision to Fire Preet Bharara Might Be Rupert Murdoch [New York Magazine]
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Kathryn Rubino is an editor at Above the Law. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).