We Will Never Get to Hear Gretchen Carlson’s Tapes of Roger Ailes

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Former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson said she had tape recordings of Roger Ailes being a disgusting creep. Sadly, we’ll never get to hear them:

21st Century Fox is pleased to announce that it has settled Gretchen Carlson’s lawsuit….We sincerely regret and apologize for the fact that Gretchen was not treated with the respect and dignity that she and all of our colleagues deserve.”

Ms. Carlson issued the following statement: “I am gratified that 21st Century Fox took decisive action after I filed my Complaint. I’m ready to move on to the next chapter of my life in which I will redouble my efforts to empower women in the workplace.”

This statement was accompanied by a $20 million check, and you might be forgiven if you think that’s an awful lot of money for a mere lack of “respect and dignity.” Those must have been some tapes.

In related news, two other women at Fox are expected to receive settlements, and Greta Van Susteren abruptly resigned from Fox today. Apparently no one knows what the Van Susteren thing is about. Maybe it’s got nothing to do with Ailes and Carlson. It’s odd timing, though, two months before Election Day.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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