The following is a Catholic Action League of Massachusetts news alert…
Ten days after his removal as CEO and Editor-in-Chief of LifeSiteNews, John-Henry Westen has been restored as President and CEO of the online news corporation, by the same Board of Directors which had terminated him.
In a terse statement released late Friday afternoon, the news website announced the following:
The LifeSiteNews Board of Directors voted today to restore John-Henry Westen to his former position.
John-Henry Westen has been recognized by the board as the President and CEO of lifesitenews.com Inc. subject to administrative review and investigation.
No other public information was forthcoming.
Catholic Action League Executive Director C.J. Doyle made the following comments:
This is likely the only time in the history of corporate governance that a statement restoring a CEO showed even less cordiality than the statement which announced his firing.
The brevity, timing and language of the announcement all suggest a profound reluctance, or even resentment, on the part of those who issued it.
It was released at 5:47 EDT on a Friday afternoon, a time best suited to minimize publicity on a story that a corporation or a government agency wishes to bury.
The use of the word ‘recognized’, rather than the more usual ‘re-appointed’ is curious. It might suggest that the previous vote was somehow improper or legally defective.
The inclusion of the phrase ‘subject to administrative review and investigation,’ suggests continued hostility towards Westen by the Board of Directors.
There is also a striking omission. There is no mention of Westen being restored as Editor-in-Chief of LifeSiteNews, a position specifically referenced in his termination announcement.
Supporters of John-Henry Westen should not get their hopes up. For all we know, this could be a temporary maneuver intended to forestall possible civil litigation.
It is likely that we will discover, in the next few days, whether this development represents a genuine reconciliation, or is merely a legal tactic by a fumbling corporate board which has mismanaged this affair from the beginning.
