Trump’s Communications Staffer To Be Paid $7 Million By Fox News While Serving In The White House
After an unceremonious turfing from his former post as co-president at Fox News, after various allegations that he may have mishandled claims of sexual harassment — pertaining to ex CEO Roger Ailes and departed TV personality Bill O’Reilly — Bill Shine will now be paid $7 million from Fox, as part of his severance package over the next two years.
According to Global News, this means that Trump’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications will be paid twice-over — one deposit for his previous service to the media outlet, and one paycheck coming directly from the current White House.
Per ThinkProgress, Shine was hired by Trump in July of last year and received a $15.4 million severance package from his former employer at the time. $8 million was paid out to him at that time, with the remaining $7 million to be paid out over the course of the next two years. According to writer Frank Dale, Shine was “a key part of the conservative network’s pervasive culture.”
“The former Fox co-president was named in multiple lawsuits as an alleged enabler of Roger Ailes, the ex-chairman and CEO of Fox News who resigned in 2016 after multiple accusations of sexual misconduct. Shine reportedly told subordinates not to speak up about Ailes’ alleged rampant abuse… Shine was also involved in settlements with women who accused former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly of sexual harassment. O’Reilly was ousted from the conservative network last year after the hush payments surfaced and advertisers bailed on his show.”
Disclosure form for Trump aide Bill Shine shows $15.4 million in severance, bonuses from Fox News https://t.co/z6RwjG3APG
— Yashar Ali ? ????? (@yashar) November 23, 2018
Bill Shine is not the only former Fox staffer to be currently employed in the Trump White House. As Global News details, both national security advisor John Bolton and State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert worked for Fox in the past, with the latter being a paid Fox News contributor.
While the issue of the severance package itself is a legal agreement between Fox and Shine solely, the hiring has brought media criticism along with it — and now that this latest disclosure has been made, scrutiny has been intensifying. Per CNBC, this most recent information was only disclosed to them after having conducted dozens of requests to the Office of Government Ethics — making them very difficult to obtain.
CNBC claims that the estimated earnings for those who have previously held a similar position within the White House weigh in at approximately $180,000 — a small sum in comparison to the roughly $3.5 million per year that Shine will claim from his severance package.
With the revelation of the disclosure form now out in the public arena, requests for comment from the White House on the matter have, so far, been met with silence.
