C. Boyden Gray demoted from Fox News “Supreme Court analyst” to “contributor” following Media Matters letter

Written by Joe Brown

Published

Fox News' erstwhile “Supreme Court analyst” C. Boyden Gray appears to have been demoted. Since Media Matters for America President and CEO David Brock wrote to Fox News on July 1 demanding that Gray be removed from his position as Fox News “Supreme Court analyst” because of his involvement with a group created to help confirm President Bush's judicial nominees, Gray has appeared on Fox News four times, but has not once been identified with that title.

Fox News featured Gray prominently during its initial coverage of the retirement of Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O'Connor, but failed to disclose the conflict inherent between Gray's role on Fox as a so-called news “analyst” and his professional role as founder and chairman of the Committee for Justice, an organization established with the encouragement of White House senior adviser Karl Rove to support Bush's judicial nominees.

Gray has since appeared on the July 3 edition of Fox Broadcasting Co.'s Fox News Sunday with Nan Aron, president of the progressive judicial watchdog group Alliance for Justice; Gray was identified as the former “White House counsel under Bush 41” and as the head of “the conservative Committee for Justice.” Gray also appeared on the July 4 edition of Fox News Live on a panel with journalist and Fox News Supreme Court analyst Tim O'Brien. Gray was identified as “former White House counsel under President George Herbert Walker Bush.”

Gray made two Fox News appearances on July 5. He was the subject of a one-on-one interview on Fox & Friends, in which he was identified as “former White House counsel for President Bush senior.” Host Brian Kilmeade also explained that Gray “was involved in the nomination process for Justice Clarence Thomas.” On The Big Story with John Gibson later that day, Gray appeared with Ralph Neas, president of the progressive advocacy group People for the American Way; Gray was described as “President George H.W. Bush's former White House counsel and a Fox News contributor.” At no point was he identified as a “Supreme Court analyst.”