Bill O’Reilly thought he was going on the Today show Tuesday morning to promote his latest Killing book,but host Matt Lauer spent the bulk of the interview grilling him about the sexual-harassment allegations that led to his ouster from Fox News earlier this year. O’Reilly refused to even acknowledge that the accusations led to his firing, calling it a “business decision” by the network in response to a “political and financial hit job” by groups like Media Matters and Colors of Change, which organized a successful advertiser boycott of his show. When Lauer asked if he was really blaming a “vast left-wing conspiracy” for his downfall, O’Reilly shot back, “Don’t be sarcastic.” And asked if he has done any “soul searching” about his treatment of women since losing his job, O’Reilly replied: “My conscience is clear,” adding, “What I have done is organize a legal team to get the truth to the American people.” O’Reilly would not even admit any “self-inflicted wounds,” telling Lauer, “You know, nobody’s a perfect person, but I can go to sleep at night very well knowing that I never mistreated anyone on my watch in 42 years.”
