Former Fox News CEO and chairman Roger Ailes had two guns hidden in the door of his New York office at the network’s headquarters, according to Vanity Fair.
“The wooden door that famously cordoned his office suite from prying eyes was removed. Within, two handguns were discovered–one a Glock, the other a Smith & Wesson–with ammunition for both,” the magazine wrote in a feature on Megyn Kelly.
Ailes’s attorney, Susan Estrich, told the magazine that the disgraced former TV exec has a license to carry a handgun in New York. She also told Vanity Fair the guns were “for his personal protection” and “licensed and appropriate.”
Ailes resigned last month after a lawsuit filed by former host Gretchen Carlson resulted in numerous women coming forward with similar claims. Ailes has been accused of a variety of sexual misconduct, ranging from causing years of “psychological torture to a recent claim by former Fox News host Andrea Tantaros that he called current Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle a “Puerto Rican whore.”
The complaints against Ailes go back decades and have been widely reported. While Ailes has denied all allegations, he apparently felt he needed multiple guns for protection.
Jack Abernethy and Bill Shine have been named co-presidents of Fox News, splitting up Ailes responsibilities while Rupert Murdoch remains executive chairman of both Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network.