Fox News host Bill O'Reilly, appearing on the "Hugh Hewitt Show" on Friday, once again denied accusations that he lied about reporting from a war zone during the Falklands War.
"This is a political hit piece," O'Reilly said on the syndicated radio show, referring to the report from Mother Jones editor David Corn that first raised the allegations.
O'Reilly has said in the past that he "reported on the ground in active war zones from El Salvador to the Falklands" and "survived a combat situation in Argentina during the Falklands War." Corn pointed out that O'Reilly was in Buenos Aires after the Falklands War, and that American reporters were unable to reach the islands at the time.
The controversy seems to turn on whether riots O'Reilly experienced in Buenos Aires after Argentina's forces in the Falklands surrendered to Britain count as having reported from a "war zone" and constitute a "combat situation."
"Would you consider a riot a general combat definition?” Hewitt asked O'Reilly.
“Yeah, when it’s in a war setting, of course,” O'Reilly responded.
Reports from Buenos Aires after the Falklands War show rioters breaking windows and throwing stones and sticks. Police responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and clubs. There were no reported fatalities.
O'Reilly said he plans to address the charges on "The O'Reilly Factor" Friday evening.