Feds Investigate FOX News’ Sexual Harassment Settlements

Federal prosecutors are investigating whether the Fox News Channel broke securities law by making payments in the sexual harassment scandal that led to the ouster of Chairman Roger Ailes. Judd Burstein – the lawyer for suspended Fox News host Andrea Tantaros, who accused company leadership of trying to shut down her harassment complaints – told NPR he had spoken to prosecutors in the securities and fraud division of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York about the investigation. It centers on whether the company hid past settlements to Ailes’ victims as compensation to avoid disclosure of the payments and the harassment. In addition, Burstein alleged in court that he had “compelling evidence that Fox had engaged in electronic surveillance” of Tantaros’s personal accounts. New York State Judge David Cohen found that Tantaros’s complaint should be handled through binding arbitration. He rejected Burstein’s request for time to seek substantiation of his surveillance claims. A Fox News spokeswoman told NPR: “We have been in communication with the U.S. Attorney’s office for months,” but they have not received any subpoenas.