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White House announces hiring of former Fox News exec Bill Shine

Posted at 2:14 PM, Jul 05, 2018
and last updated 2018-07-05 14:14:37-04

The White House announced Thursday that former Fox News president Bill Shine has been appointed as the White House’s new Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications.

A White House statement about the appointment highlighted Shine’s past experience with Fox News.

“[Shine] brings over two decades of television programming, communications, and management experience to the role. Previously, Mr. Shine served as Co-President of Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network,” it reads.

Shine’s hiring is eyebrow-raising because of his longtime association with Roger Ailes, the former chairman of the Fox News Channel. Shine was one of Ailes’ deputies for years. When Ailes was accused of sexual harassment by numerous women in 2016, Shine was accused of covering up the alleged misdeeds.

In the wake of Ailes’ ouster from Fox, Shine was named in multiple lawsuits and complaints — not for harassing anyone, but for mishandling the allegations against Ailes. Shine denied all wrongdoing.

At first, he was promoted to co-president of Fox News for what turned out to be a transition period. But he resigned in May 2017, in part due to the taint from the Ailes scandals.

Sean Hannity, Fox’s biggest star and the president’s biggest booster, has been close with Shine for two decades. CNN previously reported that Hannity pushed the idea of Shine joining the White House behind the scenes. So Thursday’s appointment further illustrates both the Hannity-Trump relationship and the Fox-Trump relationship.