Fox News Channel’s Greta Van Susteren says she’s been in the RNC “bubble” and hasn’t been keeping up with the news about Fox News. We wanted to know what she thought about the report that her boss and the creator of Fox News, Roger Ailes was on the verge of exiting; about the FT report that claims she has a clause in her contract that would allow her to depart if Ailes left; and about what’s next for the channel, if Ailes isn’t at the helm.
“I’ve been in this bubble, in the Secret Service bubble,” Van Susteren told TVNewser. “I haven’t talked with anybody I haven’t seen anybody. I hear all the noise. But I have no idea what’s going on. Except I hear about these random reports and they seem to be inconsistent.”
As for that report that she, Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity all have that clause in their contracts: “I haven’t seen that FT report. I never tell the terms of my contract. I may be the only one in this business who doesn’t, but in the 25 years of this business you’ve never read about my contract negotiations. I’m old fashioned. When you say they’re confidential, they’re confidential.”
We talked with Van Susteren just after her show tonight in a loud, packed Fox News skybox, that included FNC anchor Chris Wallace, Eric Trump and Gov. Scott Walker who were there to pre-tape interviews with other Fox News hosts. Van Susteren and her producers threw out the rundown when the roll call giving Donald Trump the GOP nomination occurred during her hour. “We had an hour show to prepare for and it kept changing. It’s been chaotic today.”
Van Susteren was one of the first Fox News hosts to come forward to support Ailes following Gretchen Carlson‘s sexual harassment lawsuit. “I’ve been here 15 years. I haven’t seen it and frankly I’m rather outspoken and I don’t think I’d stick around for it,” she told the New York Times.
As for the separation agreement first reported on the Drudge Report this afternoon, Ailes’s attorney Susan Estrich told the Hollywood Reporter: “I’m not going to say it wasn’t somebody’s draft. All I can say is it doesn’t reflect the state of play at this time because there is no term sheet, there is no agreement, there is no deal, and the review is ongoing.”
We’ll have more of our interview with Van Susteren on Wednesday.
As an aside, as I waited outside the Fox News skybox to interview Van Susteren, a half dozen Fox fans stood waiting in the crowd with their smartphones ready. I asked one of the women who she was waiting to see. “Anyone from Fox,” she said. “Are you a fan?” I asked. She nodded. I asked who her favorite is. “Megyn Kelly,” she said. I asked if she’d heard the news reports about Kelly. She had. “And I believe her,” the woman said, adding, “As a professional woman I support what she’s saying. I believe Gretchen and Megyn,” she said.