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CBS News was rocked by yet another high-profile firing on Wednesday after the network gave the boot to long-time 60 Minutes executive producer Jeff Fager. The embattled producer was under scrutiny after claims of sexual misconduct surfaced. The firing came after he sent text messages to a female CBS reporter covering the story threating to end her career at the network.
“I am that reporter,” Jericka Duncan bravely informed viewers during CBS Evening News. “Since Jeff Fager publicly referred to our exchange today, I want to be transparent about it.”
According to Duncan, she had reached out to Fager to get a comment on new claims he had groped women at company parties. The accusations clearly infuriated Fager and he lashed out at Duncan with a serious threat.
“In addition to denying these charges, Fager in a text said to me, quote, ‘If you repeat these false accusations without any of your own reporting to back them up, you will be held responsible for harming me,’” Duncan read from the texts.
In one message, Fager sounded like he was doing an impression of Vito Corleone from the Godfather as he threatened her with a comment about happens to people who try to “harm” him. “He went on to say, ‘Be careful. There are people who lost their jobs trying to harm me, and if you pass on these damaging claims without your own reporting to back them up, that will become a serious problem,’” Duncan continued to read.
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