After Gretchen Carlson filed her stunning sexual harassment/retaliation lawsuit against Fox News chief Roger Ailes, the cable-news giant responded, in part, by affirming that the complaint was “wholly without merit and will be defended vigorously.” An outside observer might just have concluded that Ailes was girding for a showdown in which his side of the story could get a full hearing. A fair fight within the confines of the civil justice system. Nope, wrong impression: Ailes wants this thing to recede into the shadows, where the particulars of his dispute with Carlson won’t reach the media. This, from one of the titans of American media.