NBC News President Andy Lack -- Who Killed Reports About Harvey Weinstein -- Steps Down Amidst Reports of a New York State Probe Into NBC's Culture of Sexual Harassment and Cover-Ups

Matt Lauer also seemed to be under Lack's protection.

Soon-to-be former NBC News Chairman Andy Lack won't be with the company come June, but it appears his trail of scandal and controversy isn't going away anytime soon, as the New York attorney general is reportedly investigating the company for alleged sexual harassment issues under Lack's watch.

NBCUniversal shocked media watchers on Monday when it issued a press release announcing a major shakeup at the company. Lack's exit was buried behind news of the company's restructuring and the bonafides of the promoted executives.

...

"Andy Lack's tenure running NBC News was an abysmal failure, there is no other way to put it," Fox News' Howard Kurtz said on Tuesday. "It was defined by the world-class debacle involving his refusal to air the rock-solid reporting of Ronan Farrow on the criminal sexual assault by Harvey Weinstein."

Why now? Possibly because New York's Attorney General is probing NBC's culture of sexual harassment.

EXCLUSIVE: Former NBC News anchor Linda Vester reveals she was grilled for hours about ousted chairman Andy Lack as New York AG investigates network over sexual assault claims and says Noah Oppenheim and Matt Lauer are also 'main targets' of probe

The revelation comes one day after it was announced that NBC chairman Andy Lack is out at the peacock network

More than a dozen women have been interviewed by officials from a Civil Division department dubbed 'The Weinstein Unit' over the past six months

Former news anchor Linda Vester, 54, told DailyMail.com she was interviewed in January over her alleged assault at the hands of Tom Brokaw

Vester said she spoke in an 'hours-long' session with investigators and asked about a cover-up culture at the network

Megyn Kelly was also interviewed, say sources, although her reps would not confirm her involvement

According to Vester, Lack is one of the main targets of the Weinstein Unit's investigation, along with Matt Lauer and NBC President Noah Oppenheim

From an interview on Tucker Carlson (at the first link above):

"One has to assume that [NBCUniversal] caught wind of this investigation because it's been building up for months and they’ve spoken to dozens of employees, so I believe that has a role to play, there is new management at the top so they decided, 'We're gonna try to get away from this black eye,'" McHugh said when Carlson asked if Lack was actually fired or forced to step down.

"This is a good first step," McHugh said. “I should point out that I've spoken to a number of women, victims who worked at NBC, they say the fact that Andy Lack gets to walk out of the building on his own accord is a disgrace.... the fact that he can kind of just walk away is upsetting."

...

"It's curious what the board of directors makes of all this," he added.

Rick McHugh is the reporter breaking many stories about Tara Reade's allegations.

McHugh used to work for Andy Lack and NBC, and says he was "lied to over and over" about his Weinstein reporting. Andy Lack and Noah Oppenheim kept lying to him about when or if it would ever run, while keeping it killed behind the scenes.

Video of McHugh's appearance on Tucker Carlson last night here.

posted by Ace at 01:23 PM

| Access Comments