Now the National Enquirer is getting in on the Ed Henry story. “‘Lap Dances & Champagne!’ Ed Henry’s Secret Strip Club Romp Exposed” is the title of one piece. “Ed Henry’s Raunchy Crotch Photo To Stripper Mistress Revealed,” reads the headline on another Enquirer piece touting “exclusive details.” Indeed: Crotch photos are rarely distributed via press release.
The Enquirer’s articles supplement the work of In Touch magazine, which last week disclosed that Henry had carried on an alleged 10-month affair with a Las Vegas hostess. The 44-year-old Henry has been married to NPR deputy Washington editor Shirley Hung since 2010. The indiscretions were both sexual and professional, as the hostess alleged that Henry had offered her a trip to a Trump resort, though he never came through on the offer.
A Fox News spokesperson issued this statement at the time: “We recently became aware of Ed’s personal issues and he’s taking some time off to work things out.”
In light of the National Enquirer’s reporting, the network is taking it up a notch: “This raises serious questions about Ed’s lack of judgement, especially given his position as a journalist,” reads a statement from Roger Ailes, chairman and chief executive of Fox News.
To be clear: I’m not at all condoning Ed Henry’s behavior. FNC also has the right to deal with its employees however it chooses.
That having been said, is this really the time for the network to pretend to be occupying any sort of moral high ground? This is the network that, despite all Trump’s bellyaching to the contrary, has been his number-one champion. They’re comfortable in Trump’s mud. Heck, they even seem to enjoy it. And that’s their prerogative.
Above the fray they are not, however.
A serious news organization also shouldn’t be so quick to react to something in the only-occasionally-right National Enquirer.
After several months of doing a disingenuous ratings dance (the phony feud with Trump) and being less than honest about some of its bigger names (Greta, O’Reilly, Hannity, Andrea Tantaros, Eric Bolling) blowing their Trump trumpets every day, maybe they should dial back the “Harumph!” action about Ed Henry’s strippers (if that’s even true).
This tweet from Allahpundit sums it up rather nicely:
Yeah, if there’s any glaring judgment problem at FNC over the past 10 months, it’s obviously Ed Henry’s https://t.co/pTj8cZRKM2
— Allahpundit (@allahpundit) May 10, 2016
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