On Tuesday, Fox News brought up Trump White House’s deputy chief of staff for communications Bill Shine as a possible Chief of Staff to replace outgoing only-adult-in-the-room John Kelly.
Also on Tuesday, key Democratic senators are now investigating Fox’s payments to Shine, because he continues to receive large payments from 21st Century Fox while serving as Trump‘s Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications.
Yes, that Bill Shine, the former co-president of Fox News before he was forced out after being named in multiple lawsuits alleging he covered up, enabled and/or aided sexual harassment, assault and abuse.
After the release of a financial disclosure form which revealed that Shine, the former co-president of Fox News, will get millions of dollars in payments from 21st Century Fox while working at the White House, the four Democratic senators sent a letter demanding answers from Acting White House Counsel Emmet Flood.
Senators Elizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal Edward Markey and Sheldon Whitehouse demanded answers on what appears to be a violation of federal ethics laws regarding White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications Bill Shine receiving millions from 21st Century Fox, owner of the exceptionally partisan – and close to being state propaganda for Trump – Fox News, while he’s working at the White House.
“In July 2018, President Trump appointed Mr. Shine to serve as Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications, touting Mr. Shine’s ‘two decades of television programming, communications, and management experience,’ including his experience as Co-President of Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network,” the senators wrote in a statement sent to PoliticusUSA. “According to Mr. Shine’s recently-released financial disclosure, Mr. Shine received an $8.4 million severance payment from 21st Century Fox in 2017 and is scheduled to receive additional payments of $3.5 million in 2018 and 2019, even while serving in the White House.”
The senators expressed concern with Mr. Shine’s continued receipt of large payments from Fox News while he serves in the White House, and noted that such payments may place him in violation of federal ethics laws and regulations.
What are those federal statutes and regulations?
1. Financial conflicts
2. Supplementation of income
3. Extraordinary payments
4. Trump‘s ethics pledge (Drain the Swamp)
The Democrats also noted “that while Mr. Shine has received waivers allowing him to skirt some ethics obligations, they do not appear to cover all of his potential violations of ethics rules and regulations.”
Ethics are not big in the Trump White House, but even by their standards, Shine’s past is grotesque.
Vox broke it down:
“In a case settled in December (the dollar figure is under wraps), Shine was accused of retaliating against a woman who declined to have a sexual relationship with Ailes. In another lawsuit, a woman who complained to Shine about Ailes’ behavior said he told her that he was “a very powerful man” and that she “needed to let this one go.” A third woman, who said she was psychologically tortured by Ailes for 20 years, was, at one point sent to live in a hotel for six weeks where senior leaders at Fox could “monitor” her. She claims that Shine reviewed all of her emails, which he denies.”
Why is Shine, who left Fox in May 2017, getting so much money from Fox? Apparently enabling sexual assault is still big business, and obviously a necessary skill when working for the Trump White House.
The idea of Shine for Chief of Staff isn’t that far fetched, it’s being mentioned elsewhere:
Considering what Trump wants out of a chief — reenforcement, let-Trump-be-Trump, attack-first messaging, synchrony with FOX and the 2020 campaign — it seems like the guy he wants, Bill Shine, is already working for him… no?
— Glenn Thrush (@GlennThrush) December 10, 2018
Shine is being asked by the Senators to respond to a series of questions about his compliance or lack thereof with federal ethics law by no later than January 2, 2019.
Sure, Democrats don’t control the Senate, but they can pass on any information they obtain to their colleagues in the House, where Democrats will be in charge and working hard to right the impact of the Trump Titanic on America.
It’s hard to imagine the equivalent of this on the left, because the left doesn’t tend to elevate known scumbags. But just say the head of MSNBC was found to have enabled sexual assault and abuse, was being paid by MSNBC even after he/she left, and then the Obama White House hired this person while they were being paid by MSNBC. The QAnon’s would implode.
But this is just another day under Trump‘s epic corruption. Just another day of elevated evil and ugliness. Just another day without moral leadership. Just another day under the president who doesn’t seem to have come to the White House honestly and might not even be a legitimate president, as irony will have it.
Just another day until the Democrats take back the House and adults are back in charge.
Sarah has been credentialed to cover President Barack Obama, then VP Joe Biden, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and exclusively interviewed Speaker Nancy Pelosi multiple times and exclusively covered her first home appearance after the first impeachment of then President Donald Trump.
Sarah is two-time Telly award winning video producer and a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Connect with Sarah on Post, Mastodon @PoliticusSarah@Journa.Host, & Twitter.
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