Fox Anchor 'Spied for FBI'

Mole asked to identify colleagues' sources for Hoffa story
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 8, 2011 5:02 AM CDT
Updated Apr 8, 2011 5:18 AM CDT
Fox Anchor 'Spied for FBI'
John Roland anchored WNYW’s nightly newscast for nearly 25 years.    (YouTube)

The FBI used a Fox anchor to try to sniff out the names of other journalists' confidential sources in the early '90s, according to files unearthed by the Smoking Gun, whose editors believe the anchor in question is John Roland, former anchor at Fox's flagship New York station WNYW. The mole—referred to in the files as "a friend of the FBI"—was asked to discover the identity of the secret informant used for a report on Jimmy Hoffa.

The mole told the FBI that the journalists had refused to name their source but "he did learn that the man resides in New Orleans, and is dying of cancer," the files state. Asked if he was the FBI's man inside Fox, Roland said: "It sure as heck doesn’t ring a bell. I’m drawing a complete blank," adding: "I can’t say that I wasn’t a friend of the FBI or the NYPD. We didn’t beat them up like the more liberal news organizations.” Files uncovered earlier this week listed an ABC journalist as an FBI source at the time of the Oklahoma City bombing. Click here for that story. (More Fox stories.)

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