O’Reilly attorney: We have no choice but to ‘litigate fully and aggressively’

The lawyer representing conservative talk show host Bill O’Reilly pushed back on two women joining a defamation lawsuit against O’Reilly on Wednesday, warning his client will “litigate fully and aggressively.”

“The latest filing has absolutely no merit as we will show in court. Adding more plaintiffs does not cure the deficiencies in Bernstein’s complaint,” Fredric Newman said in a statement, referring to Rachel Witlieb Bernstein, who originally filed a lawsuit earlier this month.{mosads}

“The plaintiffs have drawn more attention to themselves than O’Reilly ever did. For example, Andrea Mackris invited a New York Times photographer into her home for the April 1st story, even though she had publicly declared ‘that there was no wrongdoing whatsoever by Mr. O’Reilly,’ ” he continued. 

“Mr. O’Reilly never mentioned any of the plaintiffs, but now he has no choice but to litigate fully and aggressively.” 

Newman’s statement comes after Mackris and Rebecca Gomez Diamond joined Bernstein in the lawsuit, claiming that O’Reilly and Fox News violated terms of the settlement by making statements portraying them as politically motivated liars.

Mackris and Gomez have settled separate sexual harassment cases against the former Fox News host. 

Mackris, who was a producer on The O’Reilly Factor, sued him in 2004 for sexual harassment. 

Diamond, who was a Fox Business host, came to a settlement with O’Reilly in 2011 after she accused him of sexual harassment. 

The women say O’Reilly has defamed them by publicly labeling them as liars and extortionists.