Roger Ailes 'right-hand man' at Fox News fired over 'financial irregularities'

A high-ranking executive at the Fox News Channel was "fired and escorted from his office" last month for "financial irregularities" and breaches of his employment contract. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Executive Vice President of Corporate Communications Brian Lewis was considered to be Fox CEO Roger Ailes' right-hand man before being terminated from the company on July 25.

After an extensive internal investigation of Brian Lewis' conduct by Fox News, it was determined that he should be terminated for cause, specifically for issues relating to financial irregularities, as well as for multiple, material and significant breaches of his employment contract," said a Fox spokesperson to the Reporter.

Ailes and Lewis had a close relationship, which reportedly made the firing all the more difficult. Lewis acted as Ailes' spokesperson and go-between on multiple occasions, including with author Zev Chafets, who wrote a reverent, praise-filled biography of Ailes in 2012.

Lewis joined Fox News in April of 1996, six months before the network went on the air. The Reporter noted that on Monday that the Fox website listed Lewis' accomplishments as "Launching the Fox News Channel to overwhelming consumer awareness, creating and implementing successful campaigns favorably positioning FNC against competing networks and corporations, and handling all crisis situations that have threatened the network."

By Tuesday, all mention of Lewis had been scrubbed from the website.

[hat-tip to TPM]