Sean Hannity Claims ‘High Up’ Individual Trying to Get Fox News Co-President Fired

It’s been a rough couple of weeks for the folks at Fox News, with ongoing accusations of sexual harassment swirling around the network.

The chaos at the network resulted in Bill O’Reilly being abruptly fired following repeated allegations of sexual harassment and a coordinated boycott from advertisers and left-wing activists.

Several days later, Fox News’ Sean Hannity was accused of sexual harassment, but the woman has since recanted her allegations and has a history of slandering the host. The network has also been hit with a lawsuit from several African-American employees who claim they have been subjected to racial discrimination at Fox.

But now, Sean Hannity has revealed he believes a “high up” person is trying their best to fire Fox News’ co-president Bill Shine.

In addition to Hannity’s ominous tweets, Gabriel Sherman at New York Magazine has similar reporting, suggesting that Shine’s days at Fox may be numbered:

Shine has told friends he recently asked Rupert’s sons James and Lachlan — the CEO and co-chairman, respectively, of network parent company 21st Century Fox — to release a statement in support of him, but they refused to do so. The sources said Shine made the request because of withering press coverage of Fox News in recent weeks. A source added that Shine has privately complained that Rupert “isn’t fighting for him” in the press, which is why he wanted explicit support from the sons.

Through a Fox News spokesperson, Shine denied personally going to James and Lachlan for a statement. A Murdoch spokesperson said Shine did not directly ask for a statement.

By refusing to back Shine at this tumultuous moment for the network, the Murdochs may finally be signaling that they’re prepared to make the sweeping management changes they’ve so far resisted after forcing out CEO Roger Ailes last summer. Shine’s continued leadership has angered many Fox News employees, especially women, who view him as a product of the misogynistic Ailes culture. Shine joined the network in 1996, served as Sean Hannity’s producer, and rose through the ranks to become Ailes’s deputy. In that role, sources say he had the power to stop multiple instances of sexual harassment, including that of former Fox booker Laurie Luhn, but did not do so. (Through a Fox News spokesperson, Shine denies this.) He’s currently a defendant in a federal lawsuit filed this week by former Fox host Andrea Tantaros.

If Hannity’s prediction is correct, it may suggest that the Murdoch family and those at 21st Century Fox are making a concerted effort to purge the network of anyone close to Roger Ailes. Individuals like Ailes and Shine helped make Fox News the dominant force on cable news, and the Murdochs seem to be rushing to clean up the recent PR problems associated with the sexual harassment allegations leveled against the network.

We know the Murdochs already bowed to liberal pressure once, resulting in the network firing its top-rated host for more than two decades. If the Murdochs intend to dismantle the network, removing everyone who has made Fox News the powerhouse that it is today, then Hannity’s prediction that the network is over may be correct.

For years, conservatives have relied on Fox News to be the lone cable network that gives them a fair shake. If Shine leaves the network, conservatives may feel that the network has abandoned them as well, and may flee.

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