Senior Fox Corp. Vice President Raj Shah Leaves Company Following Dominion Voting System Lawsuit
- The Indian American’s efforts to push the media outlet in an even more pro-Trump direction after the 2020 election were exposed in the legal action which was settled for more than $787 million in April.
Raj Shah, a senior vice president at Fox Corporation and former White House communications official has left the company. The news that the Indian American was out last month was first reported last week by CNN journalist Oliver Darcy in his “Reliable Sources” newsletter.
Shah previously served in the Trump administration as a senior communications official. He joined Fox Corporation as a senior vice president in 2019, several months after he left the White House. The reason for Shah’s departure was not known, CNN reported, adding a statement from Fox spokesperson Brian Nick. “Raj brought talent and creativity to his role at Fox,” read the statement reported by several media outlets, including CNN. “We appreciate his service and wish him the best on his next endeavor.”
Shah was based at Fox’s Washington, D.C. offices, where he reported to the network’s chief legal and policy officer, Viet Dinh. During his time there, “he was tasked with protecting the brand image and reputation of Fox and its core assets,” as reported by CNN.
He made headlines earlier this year when his texts and emails were exposed to Dominion Voting Systems’ lawsuit against the network, which was settled for more than $787 million in April. According to a report in The Daily Beast, “Dominion said in a filing that those communications showed Shah knew claims the election had been stolen from Donald Trump were bogus, ‘and yet, when Fox repeatedly aired clearly false allegations about Dominion, Shah ignored the truth and sat on his ability to intervene.’”
In a March 12 report, The Washington Post noted how Shah “privately derided the White House’s narrative of a stolen election. But he also pushed back on efforts to dispute the claims.” Citing text messages and other records obtained by the publication, The Post said Shah complained to deputy executives and some talent at Fox News over guests who looked “awful” during segments where election-related matters. “This is the kind of sh-t that will kill us,” Shah texted a deputy executive at Fox News, according to some records reported by the Post. “We cover it wall-to-wall, and then we burn that down with all the skepticism.”
In a “brand protection” report that Shah sent to senior executives contained “threats” to Fox News’ reputation, the CNN report said. “Shah highlighted criticism host Neil Cavuto was facing after his decision to cut away from a lie-filled press conference in November 2020 by then-press secretary Kayleigh McEnany,” CNN said.
In another message following Fox News’s call that Joe Biden would win the presidency, Shah emailed Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch, Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott and Fox Chief Legal Officer Viet Dinh, reporting “strong conservative and viewer backlash to Fox that we are working to track and mitigate.”