An explosive new piece by Jane Mayer in The New Yorker reveals new details about how Fox News has become what one scholar described as “the closest we’ve come to having state TV.” Mayer reveals that in 2017 Trump directed then-top economic adviser Gary Cohn to put pressure on the Justice Department to block AT&T’s $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner. The move was reportedly due to Trump’s animosity toward CNN, which is owned by Time Warner. Cohn, however, viewed Trump’s order as “highly improper” and directed then-Chief of Staff John Kelly not to follow through on it. In contrast, the Trump administration handily approved Disney’s acquisition of Fox for $71 billion.
The piece also says that former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes shared key questions from the 2015 Fox News-hosted Republican primary debate with candidate Trump beforehand, including a question by then-Fox host Megyn Kelly pressing him on past misogynistic comments.
Jane Mayer also confirms that Fox News reporter Diana Falzone had evidence of Trump’s illegal hush money payments to Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign, but that her story was killed and a Fox executive told her, “Good reporting, kiddo. But Rupert wants Donald Trump to win. So just let it go.” Rupert Murdoch owns Fox News and has long been an ally of Trump. After suing and settling with Fox, Falzone signed a nondisclosure agreement, ensuring the network never released the story.