Bill O'Reilly's daughter said he choked his ex-wife, called her an adulterer: court records

Fox News host Bill O'Reilly's daughter told a court-appointed psychologist she witnessed O'Reilly assaulting her mother, as well as describing her as an adulterer, according to court records published by Gawker on Wednesday.


The transcripts, which contain testimony by the psychologist, Larry Cohen, in Nassau County Supreme Court last summer, identify the daughter as "M," while referring to O'Reilly as "Mr. Anonymous."

"What sorts of things did M. tell you that Mr. Anonymous says about their mother?" Cohen is asked.

"That she is an adulterer, and that her husband is, M.'s new stepfather is not a good person," he replies. "And oh, if she spends her time or more time at the mother's home, it will ruin her life."

Gawker had previously reported on the testimony, but published screenshots of the transcript in its latest story. One of them can be seen below:

billotranscript1

The testimony is drawn from O'Reilly's custody dispute with his ex-wife, Maureen McPhilmy, regarding their two daughters. M. was 15 years old at the time she met with Cohen, who was ordered by the court to interview the girl and her brother, as well as McPhilmy and the Factor host.

The transcript also shows Cohen telling McPhilmy's attorney, Casey Greenfield, about witnessing "incidents of domestic violence."

"M. reported—having seeing an incident where I believe she said her dad was choking her mom or had his hands around her neck and dragged her down some stairs," Cohen says.

When Greenfield asks a follow-up question, Bernard Clair -- O'Reilly's lawyer -- interjects.

"Your Honor, to the extent that that incident as alleged may have predated the signing of the agreement," Clair says.

The judge responds by saying, "Counsel, she asked the question, we got the answer. Let's move on."

Cohen also testified that M. told him that O'Reilly "was never around to have a relationship with her for 11 years." Both the girl and McPhilmy, he said, also told him that O'Reilly had anger issues, with McPhilmy referring to his outbursts as "tantruming" and M. describing him as "being scary and demeaning" during those episodes.

According to Cohen, O'Reilly admitted to "going ballistic" on limited occasions, while saying he was trying to improve.

"He said that he would, 'act like an idiot,' which he can no longer do at his age," Cohen testified. "Or he can institute Plan B, which would be going out, hitting a tree or yelling and moaning. He said he worked hard to keep his emotions under control."

Thus far, O'Reilly -- who was under fire earlier this year for allegedly misrepresenting his reporting on several stories -- has denied Gawker's initial report, saying in a statement on Tuesday, "All allegations against me in these circumstances are 100 percent false. I am going to respect the court-mandated confidentiality put in place to protect my children and will not comment any further."