NBC News appears to be trying to shame suspended anchorman Brian Williams into resigning, using an orchestrated a series of leaks to save the network the extra expense and complications of firing him, a new report says.
Williams is reportedly under a $50 million contract over the next five years, and there is speculation he would get $20 million to $30 million to leave, reports
Politico. If he leaves for $20 million, he'd get less than 50 cents on the dollar for his remaining contract.
It's unclear if the apparent strategy is workable, Politico reports, because the Williams camp believes it can disprove many of the leaks.
For example, on Friday,
Paul Farhi of The Washington Post reported leaks from a private meeting with NBC News President Deborah Turness, in which reporters from the powerful Washington bureau demanded that he not be permitted to return to work.
And
The New York Times on Saturday reported that the network's inquiry into Williams' reporting from Egypt in 2011 found exaggerations and news division employees had provided more examples for investigators to examine.
On Saturday,
Farhi wrote another story, saying that the network found Williams embellished his stories "at least 11 times."
Veteran journalist Dan Rather said Sunday that he believes the network is being "downright vicious" for leaking information about its investigation into Williams, and he thinks it will be "very hard" for Williams to ever return to work.
"Objectively it’s very hard to see how NBC brings him back," Rather told CNN "Reliable Sources" host Brian Stelter. "I said some time ago I thought his chances were slim to none. You could make a case that slim just left town."
Corporations like NBC "want to put things behind them," said Rather, and "if they make the decision to bring Brian back that doesn’t put it behind them."
The decision about Williams likely remains weeks away, but on Saturday
the Times, citing "people with inside knowledge" of the investigation, said the investigation is expected to expand even further.
"Why dump this on him when he’s not able to speak for himself?" Rather said. "When Brian is down, they come from behind him and give him a whack on the back of the neck."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.