Haile is in a tough spot. He and Jos basically had no choice but to claim that the NY Times fabricated the statements about Haile's phone being tapped and him being blackmailed by the government. Even so, this fundamentally changes Haile's position in Ethiopia.
The Ethiopian government would not tolerate those kinds of statements by/about such a high-profile person. Ask Teddy Afro - he was the most popular singer in Ethiopia, but became identified with the opposition movement and ended up in jail on what most people view as trumped-up charges. And (to my knowledge) Teddy's opposition sympathies were relatively subtle. Haile has always remained publicly neutral about Ethiopian politics for very good reason - it's dangerous for him to come out against the government. At the same time, it would be difficult for him to vocally support the government, given how unpopular the current regime is among the Addis middle/upper-class. If/when the government changes, Haile doesn't want to be strongly associated with the current one, as that would likely have real negative consequences for him.
All of this matters way more in Ethiopia because of how involved the government is in so many facets of life, particularly business. For example, the government owns all land in Ethiopia. So for Haile to build his hotel, step #1 was getting the government's permission to use the land. Given the size of his business operation, his company is dealing with various branches of the Ethiopian government *every* day. And the government has very few limits on its power. So any strain in Haile's relationship with the government is going to cause him big problems across the board.
I have no idea whether the claims in the NY Times or the EthioReview website about government officials pressuring Haile to cut themselves into his business deals are accurate. But they are absolutely plausible under the current Ethiopian system.
So Jos really screwed Haile by saying whatever he did that lead to what the NY Times wrote. Without a very public recanting/apology, I think it would be hard for Jos to keep working in Ethiopia, maybe impossible. There would be a problem with his paperwork that allows him to conduct business there, and I'm sorry Mr. Jos but it is best for you to go home until we can resolve this matter with the permits.
Most of us live in societies where someone of Haile's fame and wealth is more-or-less guaranteed a comfortable existence unless they do something really stupid (see Simpson, OJ). But that is not the case in Ethiopia. In considering what is happening with Haile right now, we have to keep that in mind.