Scottie Nell Hughes, a pro-Trump political commentator who appeared prominently for years on CNN and Fox News, signed a multi-year contract to anchor a weeknight show on the Russian state television network RT America.
- Scottie Nell Hughes, a prominent surrogate for President Donald Trump, will anchor her own show on the American arm of the Russian state TV network RT.
- Hughes has previously appeared as a regular conservative contributor on CNN and Fox News, the latter of which she is currently suing for blacklisting her following sexual assault allegations she made.
- The US intelligence community describes RT America as a Kremlin-funded Russian propaganda outfit, and it was required to register with the State Department as a foreign agent.
Scottie Nell Hughes, a conservative political commentator who appeared prominently for years on CNN and Fox News, signed a multi-year contract to anchor a weeknight show on RT America, which is part of Russian state television network Russia Today.
Hughes will be anchoring the weeknight slot on RT between 5 and 8PM, a position formerly held by the late long-time television host Ed Schultz, who died in July, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
"It’s an honor and privilege to anchor RT America’s weeknight newscasts," Hughes said in a statement to the The Hollywood Reporter. "Ed Shultz was a dear friend and mentor. I can never fill his shoes, but I’ll do my best to live up to his high standards by reporting the real news, with balance, respect and hopefully a bit of Southern charm.”
While Hughes was once a prominent figure in the conservative media and one of President Donald Trump's staunchest supporters, she found herself on the outs after filing a sexual harassment lawsuit against Fox News, on which she had frequently appeared a guest.
In the suit, Hughes claims she was "blacklisted" and denied a contributor contract with the network after being raped by Fox Business host Charles Payne. Fox and Payne have vehemently denied the allegations.
RT, which is heavily funded by the Russian government, was required last year to register as a foreign lobbying agent after the State Department accused the network of serving as a Russian propaganda outlet.
The US intelligence community's assessment of Russian interference in the 2016 election identified RT America's programming as a crucial tool in "the Kremlin-directed campaign to undermine faith in the US government and fuel political protest."