>>> WE HAVE BREAKING NEWS AT THIS HOUR IN THE BILL O'REILLY
SITUATION AT FOX NEWS. THE RUBEERT MURDOCH OWNED "WALL
STREET JOURNAL." THEY ALSO OWN FOX NEWS.
THE NEWSPAPER REPORTING FOX NEWS IS PREPARING TO CUT TIES WITH
ITS BIGGEST STAR BILL O'REILLY, ACCORDING TO PEOPLE CLOSE TO THE
SITUATION. I'M GOING TO CONTINUE READING
FROM "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL" REPORT SAYING A FINAL DECISION
ON MR. O'REILLY'S FATE COULD COME AS EARLY AS THE NEXT
SEVERAL DAYS, THE PEOPLE SAID. WE HAVE OTHER REPORTS TONIGHT,
ONE FROM NEW YORK MAGAZINE'S GABE SHERMAN SAYING THREE
SOURCES WITH KNOWLEDGE OF THE DISCUSSIONS SAID THAT WHILE NO
FINAL DECISION HAS BEEN MADE, THE MURDOCHS ARE LEANING TOWARD
ANNOUNCING THAT O'REILLY WILL NOT RETURN TO THE AIR.
SONS JAMES AND LOCHLIN HAVE BEEN ARGUING THAT O'REILLY NEEDS TO
GO, THOUGH THEIR FATHER RUPERT HAS DISAGREED.
THEY'LL HOLD A BOARD MEETING ON THURSDAY.
ONE OF THE SOURCES SAID O'REILLY WILL BE A PRIMARY TOPIC.
NBC NEWS HAS NOT CONFIRMED THAT CNN REPORTING.
THIS COMES AS YET ANOTHER WOMAN TODAY ALLEGED THAT BILL O'REILLY
SEXUALLY HARASSED HER. HERE'S WHAT HER LAWYER LISA
BLOOM TOLD MSNBC'S CHRIS HAYES. >> SHE ALLEGES SHE WAS A
CLERICAL WORKER AT FOX NEWS IN 2008.
SHE DID NOT WORK DIRECTLY FOR BILL O'REILLY BUT FOR A
DIFFERENT BROADCASTER WHO SHE SAID WAS A GREAT BOSS.
BUT BILL O'REILLY WOULD COME BY HER DESK ON A REGULAR BASIS AND
MAKE OFFENSIVE COMMENTS AND SOUNDS.
HE WOULD GRUNT LIKE AN ANIMAL. HE'D CALL HER HOT CHOCOLATE.
SHE'S AFRICAN-AMERICAN. HE WOULD SAY, UH-HUH, WHEN THEY
WERE ALONE IN AN ELEVATOR TOGETHER AND SHE GOT OFF FIRST
HE'D SAY LOOKING GOOD, GIRL. AND WHILE ANY OF THESE COMMENTS
TAKEN ALONE MAY NOT BE ALL THAT BAD, HE NEVER SPOKE TO HER
OTHERWISE. HE NEVER EVEN SAID HELLO OR HOW
ARE YOU? SHE WAS REALLY QUITE FRIGHTENED
OF HIM. >> LETISHA JAMES, NEW YORK
PUBLIC ADVOCATE AND THE PRESIDENT OF MEDIA MATTERS.
I WANT TO GET YOUR REACTION TO WHAT LISA BLOOM JUST DESCRIBED.
>> IT'S REALLY OFFENSIVE AS AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMAN, BUT
REPRESENTING ALL WOMEN IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK, IT'S REALLY
OFFENSIVE TO ALL WOMEN TO CREATE A HOSTILE CLIMATE WHERE YOU
DEMEAN WOMEN AND WHEN YOU BASICALLY SEXUALLY HARASS THEM
EACH AND EVERY DAY. YOU CREATE THIS CLIMATE, WOMEN
ARE AFRAID TO GO TO WORK, IT'S REALLY UNACCEPTABLE.
SO I'M HOPING THAT THEY DO PUT BILL O'REILLY ON A PERMANENT
VACATION. MORE IMPORTANT THAN THAT, THAT
THEY CHANGE THE CULTURE AND REFORM THE CULTURE AT FOX NEWS.
>> NOW AS THE PUBLIC ADVOCATE IN NEW YORK CITY, WHAT POWERS DO
YOU HAVE, OR WHAT POWERS DOES THE CITY OF NEW YORK HAVE TO
INVESTIGATE THIS? >> I SERVE AS TRUSTEE IN ONE OF
THE LARGEST PENSION BOARDS. WE INVEST IN FOX NEWS.
AND BECAUSE FOX NEWS FAILED TO MATERIALLY DISCLOSE THAT, IN
FACT, THE SETTLEMENTLEMENTS THA WERE IN FACT SETTLEMENTS, THEY
REPORTED THE SETTLEMENTS AS INCOME.
THAT'S IN VIOLATION OF THE S.E.C. RULES.
>> INCOME TO THE RECIPIENTS OF THE SETTLEMENTS?
>> CORRECT. >> AS OPPOSED TO SETTLEMENTS
WHICH IN MY MIND REPRESENT HUSH MONEY.
>> IN THE BOOKKEEPING OF THE CORPORATION, A SHAREHOLDER WOULD
SEE, OH, THIS IS ALL IN THE SALARY CATEGORY.
>> CORRECT. AND THOSE FILINGS, THEY WERE
MADE TO S.E.C. AND IN VIOLATION OF S.E.C.
BECAUSE YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO REPORT ACCURATE INFORMATION.
AND IN FACT, THEIR FILINGS ARE INACCURATE.
AND THEY DECEIVE SHAREHOLDERS. AND THE SHAREHOLDERS THAT I
REPRESENT WHO ARE RETIREES IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
>> ANGELO, THIS LATEST REPORTING, WE'VE HAD A SERIES OF
REPORTS TONIGHT. GABE SHERMAN FIRST AND THEN
BRIAN STELTER SECOND. THIRD AND MOST IMPORTANTLY "THE
WALL STREET JOURNAL." THIS IS -- THIS NEWSPAPER IS
OWNED BY RUPERT MURDOCH. THERE'S NOT A PERSON THERE WHO
WOULD DARE TYPE A WORD ABOUT FOX NEWS WITHOUT TAKING THE UTMOST
CARE IN CHECKING SOURCES. AND FOR THEM TO BE SAYING IN THE
HEADLINE FOX IS PREPARING TO CUT TIES WITH BILL O'REILLY, IT'S
HARD TO IMAGINE THE MURDOCHS LETTING THEIR OWN NEWSPAPER
PRINT A HEADLINE LIKE THAT IF IT WASN'T TRUE.
>> INDEED. AND THAT'S JUST NOT REFLECTED ON
THE INSIDER SIDE AT FOX NEWS. IT'S ALSO REFLECTED ON THE
OPPOSITE SIDE BECAUSE THEY ARE HEARING AN AWFUL LOT RIGHT NOW
FROM NOT JUST THEIR ADVERTISERS. ALL THOSE THAT HAVE DROPPED
O'REILLY, ALL THOSE THAT HAVE REFUSED TO EVER BUY ADS ON
O'REILLY GOING FORWARD. BUT THEY'RE ALSO HEARING FROM
THE MEDIA BUYERS AS THEY MOVE INTO THEIR UP FRONTS NEXT MONTH,
WHICH IS WHEN THEY ACTUALLY SELL ALL THEIR 2018 INVENTORY.
AND WHAT THEY'RE HEARING, IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT BILL O'REILLY.
THE ADVERTISERS ARE DEEPLY CONCERNED THAT THIS IS
REFLECTIVE OF A BIGGER EPIDEMIC AT FOX NEWS AND RIGHTFULLY SO
GIVEN ONE OF THE CO-PRESIDENTS WAS VERY MUCH INVOLVED IN THE
COVER-UPS AGAINST THE PEOPLE THAT CAME FORWARD AGAINST ROGER
AILES, AS WELL AS THE WOMEN THAT HAVE COME FORWARD AGAINST BILL
O'REILLY AND THEY RE-SIGNED A CONTRACT WITH BILL O'REILLY
KNOWING FULL WELL. SO THE ADVERTISING COMMUNITY IS
NOT JUST SAYING THIS IS ABOUT O'REILLY.
THEY ARE GEARING UP TO DROP FOX. SO THAT'S WHAT THE EXECUTIVES AT
FOX NEWS ARE DEALING WITH. THEY ARE DEALING WITH A
LONG-TERM AND A SHORT-TERM BUSINESS CRISIS.
AND SO THEY DON'T REALLY HAVE A CHOICE ANYMORE.
THIS IS NOT THEM ACTING RESPONSIVE TO SOMETHING THAT
THEY SHOULD HAVE TAKEN CARE OF A LONG TIME AGO.
THIS IS BECAUSE OF REALLY HARD WORK.
LIKE GROUPS LIKE ULTRA VIOLET THAT HAVE PUT SURVIVORS OUT
THERE TO TELL THEIR STORIES. ORGANIZATIONS LIKE SLEEPING
GIANTS. THIS HAD TO BE FORCED.
FOX NEWS NEEDED TO BE FORCED TO DO THIS BY THEIR OWN BUSINESS
ASSOCIATES. >> ONE OF BILL O'REILLY'S
LAWYERS SAYING BILL O'REILLY HAS BEEN SUBJECTED TO A BRUTAL
CAMPAIGN OF CHARACTER ASSASSINATION THAT IS
UNPRECEDENTED IN POST-McCARTHYIST AMERICA.
THIS IS A LAWYER WHO HASN'T SEEN ALL THE CHARACTER ASSASSINATION
DONE BY PRESIDENT TRUMP ON A DAILY BASIS, WHICH IS MUCH
WILDER, HAS NO BASIS IN FACT WHATSOEVER.
AND, OF COURSE, O'REILLY HAS PALLED AROUND WITH TRUMP AS MUCH
AS POSSIBLE. TRUMP SUPPORTING O'REILLY IN
THIS SITUATION. CAN YOU IMAGINE NOW, WHERE THE
STORY STANDS TONIGHT WITH THIS NEW ACCUSATION THAT WE'VE JUST
HEARD LISA BLOOM DESCRIBE, WHICH IS AS I BELIEVE AS ANYTHING ELSE
WE'VE HEARD ABOUT O'REILLY, TO PUT IT MILDLY, CAN YOU IMAGINE
HIM COMING BACK FROM THIS TWO-WEEK VACATION IN THE MIDDLE
OF NEXT WEEK WITHOUT SOME KIND OF FULL REVELATION BY FOX NEWS
THAT WE'VE INVESTIGATED AND THERE'S ABSOLUTELY NO SUBSTANCE
TO ANY OF THESE THINGS? >> NO.
HE SHOULD BE PUT ON A PERMANENT VACATION.
HE SHOULD BE FIRED. AND WOMEN ALL ACROSS THIS
COUNTRY SHOULD RAISE THEIR VOICES AND OPEN UP THEIR
POCKETBOOKS AND VOTE WITH THERE MONEY AND TELL ALL OF THE
ADVERTISERS THAT THEY SHOULD NOT ADVERTISE WITH FOX NEWS AND THAT
NETWORK AS A WHOLE. THEY PUT THE INTEREST OF BILL
O'REILLY OVER THE INTEREST OF VICTIMS WHO HAVE BEEN VICTIMIZED
AT FOX NEWS OVER THE INTEREST OF WOMEN.
WHAT KIND OF MESSAGE ARE YOU SENDING TO LITTLE GIRLS AND TO
WOMEN OVERALL. WE NEED A CLIMATE WHICH IS NOT
HOSTILE TO WOMEN AND TO PEOPLE OF COLOR.
AND WE NEED TO SEND A STRONG AND POWERFUL MESSAGE TO FOX NEWS
THAT IS TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE AND THE SAME MESSAGE NEEDS TO BE
SENT TO THE PRESIDENT OF THESE UNITED STATES.
THAT WOMEN SHOULD BE RESPECTED AT THE WORKPLACE.
>> KNOWING WHAT YOU KNOW ABOUT INVESTIGATIONS LIKE THIS, IS IT
CONCEIVABLE THAT THE LAW FIRM COULD IN TWO WEEKS CONDUCT A
SATISFACTORY INVESTIGATION OF BILL O'REILLY'S 15 YEARS OF
ACCUSATIONS IN THIS -- IN THIS TERRITORY?
>> >> NO, BECAUSE THE LAW FIRM,
AGAIN, IS BEING RETAINED BY FOX NEWS.
IT IS AN INHERENT CONFLICT. WE NEED AN --
>> LAW FIRM REPRESENTS FOX NEWS AND THEY'RE INVESTIGATING BILL
O'REILLY AT FOX NEWS? >> AT THE SAME TIME.
IT IS AN INHERENT CONFLICT. AS A RESULT OF THAT WE NEED AN
INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION. I HAVE ALSO CALLED ON DIVISION
FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN NEW YORK CITY TO ENGAGE IN AN INDEPENDENT
INVESTIGATION TO INVESTIGATE ALLEGATIONS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT
AS WELL AS RACIAL DISCRIMINATION.
>> THEY HAVE JURISDICTIONAL POWERS TO DO THAT IN
>> THEY HAVE JURISDICTION BECAUSE FOX NEWS IS LOCATED IN
NEW YORK. I HAVE ASKED THEM TO LAUNCH THAT
INVESTIGATION. >> LETISHA J