In the wake of Shepard Smith’s abrupt resignation, Rupert Murdoch’s private meeting with Attorney General William Barr is looking especially suspect even if it’s true that Smith resigned of his own accord.

Appearing on SiriusXM’s Dean Obeidallah show yesterday, Rep. Harley Rouda, a Democrat who sits on the House Oversight Committee, was asked if it would be proper and within the committee’s purview to investigate why the U.S. attorney general, “who is so close to Trump, went to meet with a media outlet.”

Yes, Rouda thought it would be within his committee’s purview.

“You raise a very, very important question here,” Rouda said. “What the hell is the attorney general of the United States doing meeting with the head of Fox? And for what purpose could that possibly be, especially in light of the fact this is happening exactly at the same time the president of the United States is saying Fox News isn’t being kind enough to him? In fact, even said that their polling sucks.”

Not only that but as Obeidallah pointed out, Barr traveled from Washington, D.C., to Murdoch’s home in New York. That very much suggests Barr wanted something from Murdoch.

Mediaite’s Tommy Christopher noted that as far as we can tell, Smith’s departure was voluntary. But given that Fox News reportedly muzzled Smith after his recent contretemps with Tucker Carlson over Trump’s criminal behavior, it’s quite possible Smith faced further stifling after the Murdoch/Barr meeting.

Rouda quipped that it may not be the polling that sucks, but that the people responding to the polls “think you suck.”

In all seriousness, though, we’ll be looking to see if Fox polls suddenly become more favorable to Trump in the future. As I’ve previously said, while Fox's polling methods are deemed top of the line, the questions and reporting on results are not always.

Listen to the exchange below, from SiriusXM’s October 11, 2019 The Dean Obeidallah Show.

(H/T reader Eric Jefferson)