Fox News Scandal Explodes: Millions In Hush Money, Journalists Spied On, Threats Of Violence

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Fox News In Flames

The Roger Ailes scandal isn't going away any time soon. In fact, the scandal at Fox News continues to grow, and may be reaching the point of actual criminality. As of now, it already reads like a mob story. Sexual favors being demanded. Hush money being paid. Threats of physical harm to opposition. Spying and counter-spying through surveillance. Deep connections with the local police department.

In other words, get your popcorn because this show is just starting.

It seems like just yesterday that sexual harassment allegations sent Roger Ailes scurrying from his Fox News empire. One allegation led to another, and then another, and Ailes exited, stage right. But Fox News was already on fire.

And now, recent allegations and rumors and reports indicate that Ailes's behavior has gone from scandalous and disgusting to possibly even criminal.

According to multiple "highly placed sources," Ailes used Fox News profit as his own personal checkbook, and the company dime not only footed the bill for millions in hush money – it also went towards waging wars against journalists Ailes didn't like. In fact, a sizeable chunk of Fox change went solely towards advancing Ailes' own agenda, rather than that of Fox News.

Because Fox makes more than $1 billion in profits annually, one former executive explained, the funds that Ailes used for settlements and other private matters "amounted to little more than a rounding error."

Questioning Ailes Not Part Of Fox News 'Culture'

Furthermore, when Ailes was at the helm of Fox News, there was no questioning his spending habits. It was "against the culture" of Fox, said one source. But with Ailes no longer in the equation, a closer look at the books reveals that Ailes is even dirtier than initially believed.

Fox News made a settlement payment to Laurie Luhn, a former guest booker, in the amount of $3.15 million in 2011, shortly after she complained to the network that Ailes had sexually harassed her for 20 years. Fox News knew nothing of this payment.

"A settlement of that size that involved a complaint against Roger Ailes would hopefully have come to the attention of senior officials of 21st Century Fox," says Charles Elson, director of Center for Corporate Governance, University of Delaware. "That it didn't from a controls standpoint raises concerns."

But apparently, since no one questioned Ailes (it was against Fox News culture, remember?), he was able to pay off Luhn, who described her experience with Ailes as "psychological torture."

Spy Games And Paranoia

Beyond using Fox profits to pay for his own, sick, predatory decisions, Ailes also reportedly used the coffers to to wage a surveillance war against Fox News employees and journalists. CNN reports:

According to six current and former employees, many Fox News hosts, on-air personalities and producers have long feared that Ailes had tapped their phones and was monitoring their conversations. "We all believe our phones are tapped and that we are monitored," one Fox News personality told CNNMoney, echoing the fears of others who asked not to be quoted. "People definitely felt that the clicks on the line were coming from the inside," said another.

The idea that Fox employees were being spied on is described as a "pervasive fear" throughout the news corporation. But now, it appears as though Ailes didn't limit his spy games to just his own employees. As Fox News cracks down on Ailes's questionable spending habits, they add fuel to the flames that Ailes left them in.

The New York Daily Magazine reports:

Last week, according to the source, Fox News dismissed five consultants whom Ailes had hired to do work that was more about advancing his own agenda than Fox's. One of the consultants, Bert Solivan, ran negative PR campaigns against Ailes's personal and political enemies out of Fox News headquarters, a source said. A Fox News spokesperson confirmed, "Solivan was recently informed that his services were no longer needed." Solivan, who had previously worked for Fox News as a general manager of the channel's website, did not respond to requests for comment.

The 'Black Room' At Fox News

I hope you grabbed that popcorn I mentioned earlier, because things are about to get really weird.

According to Fox insiders, Solivan, Ailes's personal henchman who was paid on Fox's dime, worked out of what was called "the Black Room." The Black Room was located in a quiet part of the same office that housed Fox News Latino, as well as some marketing and promotion employees, on the 14th floor of the News Corp Building at 1211 Avenue of the