“Chris Cuomo: I believe they paid this money because it was only going to get worse for them if they went through a trial. That having their anchors up on the stand may have destroyed that brand. If lawyers could have done what doesn’t happen on TV which is where every answer you get is methodically set against the reality of what you’ve said other times, what you did and I think it was worth $787 million dollars to Fox not to go through with a trial because it would have been even worse for them. What does that say about what Fox has become?
Bill O’Reilly: Well, I see it differently no surprise to everybody in the universe. Number One if you look at the television ratings last night Fox News did not cover the story yet it got its audience. They don’t want to see the story, they don’t want to hear the story, they don’t care about the story they are gonna watch Fox News no matter what. So that takes the threat of exposure in a trial in a court of law off the table because the Fox News audience is gonna watch Fox News no matter what happens in the trial. That’s number one.
Chris Cuomo: Then why’d they pay it?
Bill O’Reilly: That’s number two Cuomo can you just calm down a minute? Let me get to number two.
Cuomo: I’m sorry, I’m very nervous. (Smiles)
O’Reilly: Number two. Once Rupert Murdoch was compelled to testify in a court of law everyone knew on the inside this was gonna be settled. He did not want to go in there it was a personal thing, he runs that company what he says goes he told his lawyers settle it, try and get the best deal you can get, and that’s why it was settled. It had nothing to do with prime-time talent. It had nothing to do with vision of the image of what Fox News is, he didn’t want to go so they settled it. They got the money, they got other exposure coming up.
Cuomo: Yeah they have more of these suits coming up.
O’Reilly: He is 92, Cuomo.
Cuomo: I understand.
O’Reilly: He’s a privileged man. Privileged people do not want to be in contentious situations. You know that.
Cuomo: Well, your reputation is on the line.
O’Reilly: He can certainly make it, he is in charge of it and that is the decision that he made. Now going forward, this has wide implications for the country that the country doesn’t even know about. The number three point I want to make is there is another lawsuit, Smartmatic, this is going nowhere. Smartmatic only had one county in the 2020 election, LA County, that’s it. Their machines were very, very limited. Smartmatic has seven employees in America and they are in Boca Raton Florida. You didn’t know any of this but because I’m me I do.