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Ailes audio tapes could lead to 8-figure settlement

by Joe Concha - 08/09/16 8:42 AM ET

Multiple women reportedly taped conversations with former Fox News Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes, and the recordings could play a crucial role in the sexual harassment suit against Ailes.

The tapes, Vanity Fair reported Tuesday, could prompt 21st Century Fox and Ailes into settling the lawsuit filed by former network host Gretchen Carlson to the tune of eight figures.

{mosads}Ailes, 76, resigned on July 21, just 15 days after Carlson’s suit was filed in Bergen County, N.J.

21st Century Executive Chairman Rupert Murdoch is serving as interim chairman and CEO until a permanent replacement is found. A source close to the situation told The Hill in late July that it could be “many months” until a permanent replacement is found.

On Monday, Ailes’s lawyers dropped a motion to move the lawsuit from New Jersey to a federal court in New York. The New Jersey court will now decide if the case will go to trial or arbitration.

The Vanity Fair report comes as another Fox News host, Andrea Tantaros, alleged via her attorney that Ailes engaged in inappropriate conduct with her as well.

Tantaros hasn’t been on the air since April over what the network says is a “contract dispute.”

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