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MrRant

O'Reilly Sues Over Extortion Scheme

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fox News personality Bill O'Reilly sued one of his associate producers and her lawyer on Wednesday, alleging they threatened him with a high profile sexual harassment case unless he and Fox paid $60 million in "hush money."

 

The conservative commentator, who is seeking unspecified damages, states his reputation has been damaged and that the scheme has caused him to suffer "great mental strain, anguish and severe emotional distress."

 

O'Reilly along with Fox News Network filed the suit in New York State Supreme Court in Nassau County. The network is part of the Fox Entertainment Group which is controlled by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.

 

Benedict Morelli, the lawyer named as a defendant in the case, did not immediately return phone calls. The associate producer, Andrea Mackris, still works at Fox but could not be reached for comment. Her voice mail recording identified her as an associate producer of "The O'Reilly Factor."

 

The suit states that Mackris began working as an associate producer on the program in April 2000. She left for a few months earlier this year to work for CNN but returned to Fox in July.

 

Although Mackris had never previously complained to anyone in authority at Fox about sexual harassment by O'Reilly, last month her lawyer began threatening to sue Fox over offensive statements made to her, the suit said.

 

During a meeting Morelli had with Fox and News Corp representatives, he showed them a draft of the complaint containing lengthy quotes that came from O'Reilly. The suit charged that the length of the quotes and the "specific verbiage" made it appear that Mackris had taped O'Reilly.

 

Morelli demanded $60 million in "hush money to keep quiet," according to the suit.

 

Fox and O'Reilly charged in their suit that the defendants' actions were motivated by greed and Morelli's Democratic political connections.

 

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...ople_oreilly_dc

 

Also the Smoking Gunn has images of suit by Mackris - http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/1013043mackris1.html

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Guest Salacious Crumb

Doesn't it tend to kill the credibility of a potential lawsuit when she demanded 60 million instead of filing a suit?

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Well, the sexual harassment suit has indeed been filed. Drudge has a link to the case.

 

It's...... very entertaining reading. Pretty detailed. Could be BS. BUt I'll assume regardless of which is true, most of FOx's viewers will take OReilly's side.

My gut feeling is that some of it at least is true, either that or she has a really detailed imagination. I'd imagine if she could produce some voicemail or if there were somew ay to at least confirm they were at places her lawsuit said they were (at dinner, etc), she might have a case.

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Yikes, after reading some of those highlights, if that's true, O'reilly is a dirty man, and it would really kill his credibility, especially as a guy he claims kids should look up to for appropriate behavior or whatever. I hope it's not true. The fact that she tried to extort money from him to keep it quiet, and he called her bluff is very interesting. Tonight's Oreilly factor should be VERY interesting. Now Al Franken will never shutup...

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Guest Salacious Crumb

I think it's BS because she never filed a complaint with Fox and basically just said "give me 60 million or I'll file for sexual harassment."

 

That and they called her bluff on it.

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Man, that was underwhelming. His talking points was just "fame brings attacks, and at some point you need to confront those attacks. Someone was trying to extort me for 60 million dollars to "punish" me and Fox News, and we won't let it happen. It's in the courts now and I don't want to waste more of your time with it."

 

Hmmm...nothing about the allegations being false or anything. :ph34r:

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"One presumes none of this is included in O'Reilly's latest book, The O'Reilly Factor for Kids, available at a bookstore near you, batteries not included." - Keith Olbermann

That book cracks me up. I imagine some woman saying: "Here, Timmy. Mommy and Daddy are too incompetant to be your parents. You just read this book and do what the man on the cover tells you, okay? He'll be a better parent than Mommy."

 

 

 

Also, this is an extortion scheme? Has anyone read "Those Who Trespass?" O'Reilly's a pretty kinky guy.

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If she does have tapes.. then that should spice things up a bit. Or make us all go deaf.

 

I doubt "The O'Reilly Factor for Kids" teaches the kids how to masturbate properly.

 

This is still less creepy than hearing about Storm Thurmond's sex life

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Guest Salacious Crumb
This is still less creepy than hearing about Storm Thurmond's sex life

 

What about Bob Dole schilling viagra?

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I was expecting the O'Reilly jokes, which is all good, but this story pisses me off. I hope this bitch gets caught lying and ruins her career to the point where she takes a bullet to her head...

kkk, how do you know she's lying. I like O'reilly too, but he does seem like the type of guy who'd have skeletons in his closet...

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Guest CronoT
The conservative commentator, who is seeking unspecified damages, states his reputation has been damaged....

O'Reilly has a reputation? Other than being an asshole, I mean. :P

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I was expecting the O'Reilly jokes, which is all good, but this story pisses me off. I hope this bitch gets caught lying and ruins her career to the point where she takes a bullet to her head...

You might like that O'Reilly guy a lil too much :ph34r:

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Guest MikeSC
I was expecting the O'Reilly jokes, which is all good, but this story pisses me off. I hope this bitch gets caught lying and ruins her career to the point where she takes a bullet to her head...

kkk, how do you know she's lying. I like O'reilly too, but he does seem like the type of guy who'd have skeletons in his closet...

Well, that she asked for money to not file this suit kinda raises a red flag.

-=Mike

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Guest Salacious Crumb

I'm not saying she's lying but it severely hurts her credibility that the first thing she did was ask for 60 million dollars. She didn't even complain to Fox.

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Guest Olympic Slam

Bill is so finished IF any of this is true. For most people, making sexually uh......odd comments to co-workers is bad and all, but when you base your career on talking about looking out for the average joe and commenting on corruption, immorality, ect, then you're basically commiting career suicide. I mean he JUST released a kid's book for god's sake! He didn't have to lay a single finger on her in any way for this to ruin him.

 

Also: Since the left will run with this and proclaim Bill a perv regardless, then I think that gives all in the Conservative Brigade full power to call this women a gold-digging bitch whore from hell. Let's just call it even in advance and have as much fun as possible.

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Big deal. O'Reilly is a scumbag? Shit, I'd bet good money over half of all mainstream media personalities are scumbuckets to a point.

 

I guess I don't see what the big deal is since I put no stock in anything the man says anyway and don't view him as something big.

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