Getty
The day before Bill O'Reilly was fired from Fox News over sexual harassment claims, "The O'Reilly Factor" host and his legal team considered one final attempt to save his job.
The team debated sharing with Fox News an email from Democratic fundraiser Mary Pat Bonner, announcing two conference calls with Media Matters president Angelo Carusone. The topic of the message was an "advertiser education campaign" aimed at getting advertisers to drop O'Reilly's weeknight broadcast.
The recipients of the email were redacted in the version that was shared with POLITICO.
Hollywood Twitter Dances on Bill O'Reilly's Fox News Grave
View StoryThe emails reveal that two conference calls -- which were scheduled for Thursday, April 20 and Friday, April 21 -- would discuss "the success of the campaign so far" and the group's "plans moving forward."
To O'Reilly and his camp, this was proof of a plot concocted by liberals to boot out the top-rated prime-time host from the conservative network.
On Tuesday, April 18, O'Reilly wrote the following in an email exchange mistakenly forwarded to POLITICO by a member of O'Reilly's legal team at Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman:
"If we show to Fox tomorrow, word will get out and the Thursday call may be cancelled. So no formal sending to Rupert until after the call. You all should know that I will not put up with much more from FNC."
O'Reilly was fired the next day.
In the wake of his removal, Fox has confirmed that Tucker Carlson will move from his 9 p.m. slot to O'Reilly's previously held 8 p.m. time starting April 24. Fox News' panel show "The Five" will move to prime time in the 9 p.m. hour.
