NEW YORK, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- Andrea Mackris, the woman accusing talk host Bill O'Reilly of sexual harassment, may be ready to settle her claim, the New York Daily News said Friday.
Lawyer Benedict Morelli asked Court TV anchor Lisa Bloom to tell a private investigator scheduled to discuss the case on the network that Mackris is "willing to settle," the Daily News quotes sources as saying.
Private eye Bo Dietl has been gathering information on Mackris for O'Reilly's legal team.
Mackris, 33, claims O'Reilly made repeated sexual comments to her while she was an associate producer for "The O'Reilly Factor." The Fox TV and radio host says Mackris and Morelli threatened to go public with her allegations if he didn't pay them $60 million.
Dietl refused to discuss what Bloom and Morelli talked about, but one source said it seemed as though Bloom was trying to broker a deal.
Mackris and Morelli's office said their intent was always to settle the matter out of court. In court filings Thursday, O'Reilly's lawyers asked for disclosure of tape recordings, telephone and credit card statements and communications between Mackris and liberal talk host Al Franken, with whom O'Reilly has feuded over remarks at a book forum last year.
