Former Fox News anchor Greta Van Susteren joins MSNBC

Greta Van Susteren, who left Fox News in September over a contract issue, has landed at cable news competitor MSNBC.

Van Susteren will anchor a nightly 6 p.m. ET program, “For the Record with Greta Van Susteren,� for the NBCUniversal-owned channel. Based out of Washington, she will begin on Monday.

Van Susteren’s hiring, which has been in the works for weeks, follows the announcement that Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly is joining NBC News.

Kelly will not have a role on MSNBC.

Van Susteren left Fox News suddenly when her contract was opened for renegotiation in September. The anchor, who had been with Fox News since 2002, had a clause in her deal that tied her commitment to the employment of the network’s former chairman Roger Ailes. Ailes left Fox News in July amid sexual harassment charges made against him.

Van Susteren, 62, is a lawyer who gained cable news prominence as a legal analyst during CNN’s coverage of O.J. Simpson’s murder trial. She was a prime-time host on CNN eight years before joining Fox News.

Van Susteren was replaced at Fox News by conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, who on Thursday was named to take over the 9 p.m. ET hour being vacated by Kelly.

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Twitter: @SteveBattaglio