'I'm watching now and screaming': Fox News employees anonymously trash the network's Russia coverage

Screenshot / Fox News

Sean Hannity

• Several Fox News employees trashed the network's coverage of key indictments in special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.
• Fox News's ratings in primetime still beat the other cable networks.

Some Fox News employees trashed the network's coverage of the first three indictments handed down in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia's involvement in the 2016 election.

According to CNN, some Fox News employees were upset with the network's coverage of indictments of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, his business associate Rick Gates, and a former foreign policy aide for the campaign, George Papadopoulos.

CNN reported that there were "many eye rolls" in the newsroom over the network's decision to cover various other topics rather than the indictment news, which blanketed CNN and MSNBC.

Though Fox News did cover the news, many of the network's shows covered topics including NFL protests, a Google emoji controversy, and a years-old conservative talking points about an Obama-era uranium deal.

Opinion hosts like Sean Hannity voiced their full-throated support for the president, while others like "Fox & Friends" host Steve Doocy, pointed out that some of the charges against Manafort were "years old."

While some critics blasted the network's coverage, Fox News still delivered strong ratings - the network beat both CNN and MSNBC in primetime.

Here are a list of some key quotes from Fox News employees, who all spoke to CNN on background:

• "I'm watching now and screaming," one Fox News personality said. "I want to quit."
• "This kind of coverage does the viewer a huge disservice and further divides the country," another Fox News personality said.
• "It is another blow to journalists at Fox who come in every day wanting to cover the news in a fair and objective way," one senior Fox News employee said, adding that the network "feels like an extension of the Trump White House."
• "That segment on 'Outnumbered' [questioning Mueller's integrity] was absurd and deserves all the scorn it can get," another Fox News employee said, referencing the show's segment questioning Mueller's motivations in the investigation.
• "It's an embarrassment," another Fox News employee said. "Frankly, there are shows on our network that are backing the President at all costs, and it's that short term strategy that undermines the good work being done by others."