A Judge Has Refused To Seal Bill O’Reilly’s Settlement Agreements. Here’s What We’ve Learned

By NewsHound Ellen — April 5, 2018

A federal judge denied a motion by Bill O’Reilly to seal the sexual harassment settlement agreements reached with the women who are now suing him for defamation. At least one of the settlements required that an accuser lie on O’Reilly’s behalf, even under oath.

As The Daily Beast noted, it’s rather ironic for a guy who characterized his show as “The No-Spin Zone,” as O’Reilly did, to demand that someone lie in order to cover up his misbehavior. But that’s exactly what O’Reilly demanded from ex-producer Andrea Mackris:

CNN has more: On Wednesday, Neil Mullin and Nancy Erika Smith, the attorneys representing the three plaintiffs, introduced to the court settlement agreements between O’Reilly and women who had sued and settled with him. The agreement struck with Andrea Mackris, a former Fox News producer who filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against O’Reilly in 2004, required all parties in the case to disclaim any of the evidence “as counterfeit or forgeries” should it be made public. As Smith and Mullin put it in a separate filing on Wednesday, the provision required Mackris to “lie—even in legal proceedings or under oath—if any evidence becomes public, by calling evidence ‘counterfeit’ or ‘forgeries.’” The potential penalties etched in the settlements were particularly onerous. If Mackris goes public about the details of the settlement, the agreement stated that she “shall return all sums paid under this Agreement, forfeit any future payments due under this Agreement, disgorge to O’Reilly the value of any benefit earned or received as a result of such disclosure, and pay to O’Reilly all reasonable attorney’s fees and costs incurred by O’Reilly in attempting to enforce this Agreement.”

That’s disturbing enough. But, apparently, Mackris’ attorney switched sides in order to represent O’Reilly – while the settlement was being negotiated.