The Trump administration has committed an unprecedented amount of conflict of interest violations. In addition to Trump’s profiting from the presidency, his daughter Ivanka’s refusal to cut her business ties and meeting with foreign leaders from whom she needs support to grow those businesses, and Trump sharing a lawyer with Fox News host Sean Hannity, it’s now been discovered that White House deputy chief of staff for communications and former Fox News co-president Bill Shine is still on the Fox News payroll.
According to ABC News, it was Shine’s financial report where the continued payments were revealed.
‘The report released Friday shows that Shine received $8.4 million in severance pay from 21st Century Fox after he left in May 2017. He’ll also receive bonus and options payments in 2018 and 2019 amounting to $7 million for the two years combined. The agreement is set to expire May 1, 2019.’
The White House Communications Director is literally on the Fox News payroll https://t.co/oLknHjtMOa
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) November 24, 2018
Trump has made numerous statements in the past that while every other media outlet is “fake news,” Fox is the only one who covers his presidency accurately. This creates an issue because of the threat of a state-run media often seen under dictatorships such as those of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who Trump has repeatedly professed admiration for, and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.
‘Trump and Fox News have had a symbiotic relationship since Trump first announced his candidacy, with the cable news channel providing often fawning coverage of the president, and the president appearing frequently on Fox shows, including his favorites “Fox & Friends” and “Hannity.”‘
Bill Shine comes from FOX, still gets paid by them and so cannot say anything bad about them. Hope Hicks leaves the administration and goes to FOX. Everyone knows she supports the administration. The creation of the first American State Run media network is now complete. https://t.co/QoZtNcpIZj
— Fred Guttenberg (@fred_guttenberg) November 24, 2018
The number of Fox News employees Trump has hired also create a problem since the “news” outlet is among the least trusted of all. Trump only hires those willing to support his lies and outrageous exaggerations and has given them the most opportunities for interviews.
‘Trump’s administration has also hired numerous former Fox personalities, including State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert and national security adviser John Bolton. Trump’s former communications chief, Hope Hicks, was hired as communications director at the newly revamped Fox company after she left the administration.’
#billshine, ousted from Fox News amid sexual harassment scandals #Metoohttps://t.co/KQRPVTI4oW
— Victoria Daniel (@victori_daniel) November 22, 2018
Shine was a controversial hire from the start due to his handling of sexual harassment claims against such Fox News employees like former host Bill O’Reilly. He was ousted from the network as a result of those claims.
Good question. Trump and Hannity used the same lawyer. Maybe they have closer ties than we think. Cohen is singing like a canary and Mueller likes his songs. https://t.co/S6agwiNdGU
— GwennieThePooh (@GwennieThe) November 15, 2018
Featured image via Flickr by Gage Skidmore under a Creative Commons license
