Roger Ailes Apologizes To ADL For Calling NPR Executives 'Nazis'

Fox News chairman Roger Ailes apologized on Thursday for calling NPR executives "Nazis" -- but he sent his apology to the Anti-Defamation League, not to NPR.

In an interview with The Daily Beast's Howard Kurtz, Ailes lashed out at NPR executives for their role in firing Juan Williams, saying, "they are, of course, Nazis. They have a kind of Nazi attitude. They are the left wing of Nazism."

Ailes apologized for the language in a letter --obtained by Yahoo's Michael Calderone-- to Abraham Foxman, head of the ADL.

"This morning you might be receiving calls because I used the word 'Nazi attitudes' to describe the NPR officials who fired Juan Williams," Ailes wrote. "I was of course ad-libbing and should not have chosen that word, but I was angry at the time because of NPR's willingness to censor Juan Williams for not being liberal enough."

Ailes also apologized "for using 'Nazi' when in my now considered opinion 'nasty, inflexible bigot' would have worked better."

In his reply, Foxman accepted the apology, saying he felt it was "sincere and heartfelt."