Tuesday, April 4, 2017
On The O'Reilly Factor...
Segment Summaries
All content taken from The O'Reilly Factor on Fox News Channel. Each weeknight by 6 PM EST a preview of that evening's show will be posted and then updated with additional information the following weekday by noon EST.
Talking Points Memo
The Trump Surveillance Story Explodes
"Tonight we will give you just the facts, no speculation, no hysteria. The latest from Fox News correspondents Adam Housley and Malia Zimmerman is this: 'Multiple sources tell Fox News that Susan Rice, former national security adviser under then-President Barack Obama, requested to unmask the names of Trump transition officials caught up in surveillance.' That is very troubling and if it can be proven, Susan Rice is in major trouble. Also, because the national security advisor was so close to President Obama, he will have to answer questions as well. So you can see an enormous story is developing and it really doesn't matter whether the liberal mainstream media ignores it. Congress and the FBI will not. To be fair to Ms. Rice, she denies all wrongdoing and should be given the presumption of innocence. That is the American way. Here's my question: If Susan Rice did surveil the Trump people for a year, what was her motive? This woman is a national security advisor, she's got a lot of work to do. So why would she be running over to the National Security Agency or the CIA reviewing wiretaps? And why, if a Trump person was involved, would she want the name? The key question here is motivation. Both the House and Senate Intelligence Committees should subpoena Susan Rice immediately, and both committees should send written questions to President Obama. Also, the FBI should interview Ambassador Rice and conduct a very thorough investigation of her behavior. Because if the Trump campaign or the transition team were being spied upon by the Obama administration, that has to be uncovered. Or am I wrong?"

The Factor pursued the Susan Rice story with FoxNews.com investigative reporter Malia Zimmerman. "We will be covering this story for weeks and months," she predicted, "because it's so vast and we don't know so many things. We don't know why they were surveilled and why President Trump and his family may have been included. This was going on for at least a year. We have intelligence sources and on Monday we were able to confirm that it was Susan Rice who did the unmasking. We believe someone in another agency may have told her to request the records and have those names unmasked. This whole thing was about embarrassing Donald Trump and making his presidency unstable, and it's pretty clear that laws were broken."
Top Story
Surveillance Revelations
Republican Congressman Peter King and Republican Senator James Lankford, members of their respective intelligence committees, entered the No Spin Zone with their opinions. "The accusation is that people in the Obama administration," Lankford said, "were using their offices to get access to political accusations. They may have been using classified documents to release names and target individuals. That is not legal and these are serious accusations. We hope Susan Rice will meet with us." King agreed that a thorough investigation is needed. "If these accusations are true, it rises to a level of a very high scandal because it is such an abuse of privacy. It violates the law and it undermines the presidency. There are more credible accusations against Susan Rice than there are against President Trump." The Factor predicted that Susan Rice, if called to testify, will invoke the Fifth Amendment.
Impact Segment
Susan Rice & the Political Divide
Democrat Jessica Ehrlich and Republican Lisa Boothe joined The Factor to analyze the Susan Rice situation. "There are potential legal ramifications here," Boothe said, "if Susan Rice unmasked these names, and we know that the illegal leaking of classified information is a felony. There are also political ramifications in the further erosion of trust if the Obama administration abused U.S. intelligence." Ehrlich, not surprisingly, was more willing to give Susan Rice the benefit of the doubt. "There are a thousand unanswered questions and a lot of obfuscation between surveillance and the unmasking of names. Susan Rice says she did not take interest in anything that didn't have to do with national security."
Factor Followup
California Sanctuary State Status?
The California Senate has passed a bill that would effectively establish the entire state as a sanctuary for illegal immigrants, including many criminals. California Republicans Jeff Stone and Travis Allen analyzed the possible fallout. "This bill would make California a sanctuary state on steroids," complained Stone. "It is written to shield dangerous, felonious non-citizens from being deported. It actually makes it unlawful for our law enforcement officials to have discussions with ICE about releasing these dangerous criminals. This is all to antagonize the president." Allen predicted that the bill will pass. "The Democrats are united on this, even though Californians don't agree with it. Native born Californians and immigrants don't want these criminals in their communities." The Factor concluded, "This sounds insane!"
Law & Order
Trump Sued by Protesters
A judge has ruled that protesters can sue President Trump for supposedly inciting violence at a campaign rally. Legal aces Eboni Williams and Kimberly Guilfoyle elaborated. "I don't think there is any factual or legal merit to this suit," Guilfoyle asserted. "The judge is just making a preliminary finding to let it proceed." Williams explained that the protesters believe Donald Trump was out of line and legally culpable. "This is all about foreseeability. The judge is saying that Donald Trump could have been encouraging violent action." The Factor pointed out, "A president can be sued, but only for actions before becoming president."
What the Heck Just Happened?
Liberal Reaction to the Susan Rice Story
Greg Gutfeld and Bernard McGuirk added their cumulative four cents to the Susan Rice surveillance story and the media coverage. "Everybody invests in their own stock and can't let it go," Gutfeld observed. "CNN has invested in the 'collusion' stock and that's the one they are going to stick with. They see this other stock that is about surveillance and leaking, but they didn't invest in it so they are pretending it doesn't exist. But that stock is rising!" McGuirk also ridiculed the media outlets that are ignoring this story. "The same media that was shell-shocked and suicidal on election night is suffering a relapse. They are scrambling to deal with the realization that there was no collusion between Trump and Russia and that maybe Trump was right about the Obama administration spying on Trump people. They're out of their minds!"
Factor Mail
Viewers Sound Off
Ron Cooper, Garber, OK: "Susan Rice did what she was told to do. Who told her what to do? Obama knew everything."

Gina Smith, Lawton, OK: "If Susan Rice can just plead the Fifth like Lois Lerner, how can anyone be held accountable for anything?"

Bobby Smith, Wichita Falls, TX: "O'Reilly, what you call Trump hatred is more accurately a deep disgust by a significant number of Americans, including Republicans, to Trump's style and behavior."
Tip of the Day
A Sanctuary From Deception
If you're looking for accurate analysis and opinion, the Wall Street Journal editorial page is a very reliable source of fairness, which has grown increasingly rare and valuable.