Wow. The timing of this seems awfully convenient, to say the least: Fox News gives Juan Williams an expanded role.

Reporting from Washington — As NPR weathered a storm of criticism Thursday for its decision to fire news analyst Juan Williams for his comments about Muslims, Fox News moved aggressively to turn the controversy to its advantage by signing Williams to an expanded role at the cable news network.

Fox News Chief Executive Roger Ailes handed Williams a new three-year contract Thursday morning, in a deal that amounts to nearly $2 million, a considerable bump up from his previous salary, the Tribune Washington Bureau has learned. The Fox News contributor will now appear exclusively and more frequently on the cable news network and have a regular column on foxnews.com.

Ahem.

I think Williams finally went over the line, and will probably now be appearing on Fox News with more frequency; it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that he knew very well those remarks would get him fired.