JOHN BERMAN (GUEST HOST): Brian, this new development, what are you learning? 

BRIAN STELTER: Andrea Tantaros, a household name actually, for viewers of Fox News, she was sidelined three months ago on the channel. She hasn’t been on the air since April. At the time, Fox News said it was because she wrote a book with a cover that was out of bounds. It was a cover that the company didn’t approve ahead of time. It was in her contract saying she had to show it before she published it. Anyway, she was sidelined. But now her attorney is saying the real reason why she was sidelined is because she accused Roger of harassment. Her attorney tells me this harassment started in 2014 and that Tantaros retained the attorney back in March because of this issue. He says it is not about the book, it is about harassment. She is the first accuser that’s actually currently on the Fox payroll still being paid by Fox who is coming forward. 

BERMAN: Drip, drip, drip. 

STELTER: It is. 

BERMAN: Inside Fox News. Because this follows this other report this weekend in New York Magazine saying that Roger Ailes used the company budget in a sort of fund, a black ops fund to go after people inside and outside the company. 

STELTER: It sounds like something of fiction, sounds like something out of a novel. It sounds like frankly Nixonian behavior. Of course Roger Ailes, many years ago, worked as key aid for Richard Nixon and he kind of knew for years that he was paranoid, that he would keep close tabs on people. That he would have files on journalists. What we didn't know until this  new story came out over the weekend, is that he actually employed private investigators, sometimes to tail journalists and other opponents and enemies in his mind. Ailes has denied the sexual harassment allegations, his attorney continues to deny these new charges as well, but frankly John the evidence just continues to accumulate against him and there are many sources from many different directions saying similar stories. For example, I've confirmed that five consultants were let go last week. These were friends of Roger's who are no longer welcome at Fox. 

BERMAN: If it was Fox News money being used, what liability does this create for Fox News? Because one of the things that was interesting about Gretchen Carlson's lawsuit is the lawsuit was against Roger Ailes, not again Fox. 

STELTER: Yes that lawsuit, almost exactly one month ago, was only targeting Ailes, not the network as a whole. But the big question is whether anyone else at Fox News or higher up, the Murdochs knew about this kind of spending. Did they know what Ailes was doing with the money at Fox News? In one case, there was a settlement involving one woman that charged that Ailes sexually harassed her for over a 20-year period. There was a $3 million settlement in that case. Is it possible that the people who were in charge of Fox didn’t know about the settlement? That’s still one of the unanswered questions here. We have been asking the Murdochs for comment and they haven't commented. 

Previously:

On NPR, New York Magazine's Gabriel Sherman Highlights The “Culture Towards Women” Roger Ailes Created At Fox News

Report: Roger Ailes Used Fox News’ Budget To Target Journalists In Smear Campaigns

Report: Fox Executives Knew, Covered Up Roger Ailes’ Predatory Sexual Harassment For Over 20 Years