Step towards Fascism: State Owned Media

[_Kevin Graham]

Democratic senators investigate Fox News bonus payments to Trump aide Bill Shine

It’s official: Fox News is the propaganda mouthpiece of the Trump White House. How do I know? Not just because Fox News hosts Sean Hannity and Jeanine Pirro are happy to appear on stage with Trump to campaign for Republican candidates. It's because the connection is now financial: Trump aide and former Fox News executive Bill Shine continues to get paid by Fox News. Shine formally resigned from Fox to become Trump's deputy chief of staff for communications last July. But Fox is continuing to make payments to Shine, totaling $3.5 million this year, and another $3.5 million in 2019.

This isn’t just illegal. (The "extraordinary payment regulation" bars federal employees from being paid more than $10,000 by a former employer, particularly if that company discovered an employee was being considered for a government position prior to their departure.)

It’s also unethical. Shine is making decisions about how the Trump administration will handle Fox News and its competitors. We already knew Fox News producers ran questions by staffers for former EPA chief Scott Pruit before he went on the air. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is now standard practice when Fox interviews Trump officials.

Face it: Fox News and Trump's government are now essentially the same organization.