Mr. Trump negotiated a settlement on behalf of Mr. Ailes,
and later boasted of his work, telling the journalist Gabriel Sherman, “When Roger was having problems, he didn’t call 97 people, he called me.”
The existence of the grand jury investigation of Fox News was disclosed in a state court proceeding last month by Judd Burstein, a Manhattan
lawyer representing a former daytime host for Fox, Andrea Tantaros, who said her career suffered after spurning advances from Mr. Ailes.
Federal Inquiry of Fox News Moves to a Grand Jury, but Without Preet Bharara -
By JIM DWYER and WILLIAM K. RASHBAUMMARCH 13, 2017
The political drama around the federal courthouse in Manhattan did not end with the sudden, unexplained turnabout
of President Trump in firing Preet Bharara, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Stopping this investigation would destroy the credibility of the U. S. attorney’s
office, which has always been the crown jewel of federal prosecutors’ offices.”
He said that if Mr. Mukasey were to be appointed to replace Mr. Bharara, he would certainly
have to recuse himself from any involvement in a case that touched a former client.
As it happens, Mr. Mukasey has represented Roger E. Ailes, the former chairman
of Fox News, who has long had a mogul-to-mogul relationship with Mr. Trump.
In 2014, Mr. Trump intervened in a dispute between Mr. Ailes and a former aide who said he had damaging information about Mr. Ailes and the network.
