CNN’s Brian Stelter debunks ‘left-wing conspiracy theory’ on Shepard Smith departure

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CNN media analyst Brian Stelter and Fox News’ Howard Kurtz both addressed the conspiracies that surfaced after Shepard Smith abruptly announced he was leaving the network he had worked for since its inception.

Following the announcement, many speculated that Attorney General William Barr’s recent meeting with Fox mogul Rupert Murdoch could have been the reason behind Smith’s departure. However, both the network and Smith denied that his leaving stemmed from anything but his own choice.

“There was also a left-wing conspiracy theory out there about Shep Smith the other day, and I want to debunk it,” Stelter stated on Reliable Sources on Sunday. “There was a report in the New York Times that Rupert Murdoch had a meeting with Attorney General Bill Barr. That’s true they did meet, but it had nothing to do with Smith resigning a day or two later.”

“In fact, Smith had been thinking about this for several weeks. So, I want to put that to rest,” CNN’s top media critic continued, before noting that it does speak volumes “that people wonder, ‘Is someone pulling the strings?'”

Kurtz echoed Stelter’s remarks on his own Sunday show MediaBuzz.

He stated, “You can forget about the wild conspiracy theories out there, that the Trump team wanted him out, that this means a new direction for Fox, when it was Shep who approached management last month and said he we wanted to step down, and he was asked to reconsider. That’s a fact.”

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