Court Transcript Shows O’Reilly’s Daughter Allegedly Saw Him ‘Choking Her Mom’

Two days after Gawker reported that Bill O’Reilly was accused of physically assaulting his ex-wife Maureen McPhilmy, the blog published portions of the court transcripts to prove it.

The allegations came from the couple’s teenage daughter during a custody trial that concluded three weeks ago. After Gawker’s initial report, O’Reilly released a statement, saying, “All allegations against me in these circumstances are 100% false. I am going to respect the court-mandated confidentiality put in place to protect my children and will not comment any further.”

But the transcripts obtained by Gawker confirm that O’Reilly’s 16-year-old daughter told a court-appointed forensic examiner that she saw the Fox host “choking her mom” while he “dragged her down some stairs” by the neck. Additionally, the daughter claimed that O’Reilly is an absent father with rage issues.

Manhattan psychologist Larry Cohen was assigned to evaluate each family member for the dispute, and reported his findings back to the Nassau County Supreme Court. Gawker’s transcripts come from the ex-wife’s counsel’s cross-examination of Cohen. The key transcript nugget centers around when the attorney asked the doctor if the daughter (identified as “M.”) hint of violence in the household:

Q: In the course of your meetings with the children, did either of them describe any incidents of domestic violence between their parents?

A: Yes.

Q: And who was that?

A: 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.

Q: And?

MR. CLAIR: Your Honor, to the extent that that incident as alleged may have predated the signing of the agreement.

THE COURT: Counsel. Counsel, she asked the question, we got the answer. Let’s move on.

Another portion highlighted by Gawker came when Cohen testified that the couple’s daughter saw O’Reilly as an absent father. This is particularly noteworthy, the website said, because the Fox host has “repeatedly criticized the ‘black community’ for failing to parent children appropriately.” See below:

Q [O’Reilly attorney]: And M. reported to you that her father was never around to have a relationship with her for 11 years, correct?

A [Cohen]: That’s what she said.

Q: And the word, when I emphasize the word “never,” that was her word, was it not?

A: Yes, it was.

We’ve reached out to Fox News and O’Reilly for comment on the story.

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