No Spin News - Weekend Edition - November 1, 2025

Summary

Bill O’Reilly’s No Spin News and Analysis

Episode: No Spin News - Weekend Edition - November 1, 2025
Date: November 1, 2025
Host: Bill O'Reilly

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Overview

This Weekend Edition of No Spin News delves into four primary themes:

• The U.S.-China relationship and the upcoming Trump-Xi summit
• Developments in press freedom and Pentagon reporting rules
• Corruption in U.S. politics, spotlighting the conviction of Senator Bob Menendez
• The evolving landscape and value of higher education in America

Contributions come from expert guests including Dr. Yun Sun (Stimson Center), John Solomon (Just the News), Isabel Vincent (NY Post), and former coach Bruce Pearl. The conversation is lively, unapologetic, and sticks to O’Reilly’s promise: “No Spin. Just Facts.”

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1. U.S.–China Summit: What’s at Stake?

Featuring Dr. Yun Sun, Director of the China Program, Stimson Center
[00:36 – 08:08]

Key Points & Insights

• China seeks economic reform:

  • Dr. Sun emphasizes that China’s top priorities are tariff reductions and an end to new U.S. trade restrictions.
    • “The Chinese want two things... One, they want tariff reduction... The second issue is the endless new trade restriction measures that U.S. has been putting on China.” – Dr. Yun Sun [02:34]

• Fentanyl and diplomatic leverage:

  • O’Reilly reveals his direct discussions with Chinese officials about fentanyl precursor exports.
    • “You gotta get out of the fentanyl business.” – Bill O’Reilly [03:47]
  • Dr. Sun notes China has little economic benefit from fentanyl precursors, suggesting they may compromise here.

• Managing the Russia relationship:

  • O’Reilly presses China’s continued support for Russian oil.
  • Dr. Sun explains China’s caution, balancing its interests with Russia’s unpredictable leadership:
    • “When you live next door to a crazy big neighbor with one of the largest nuclear arsenals in the world, you have to calculate your steps very carefully.” – Dr. Yun Sun [06:42]

• Summit Outlook:

  • Both Dr. Sun and O’Reilly express cautious optimism about the leadership summit’s outcome.
    • “I think we’re going to look at a relatively positive outcome from the leadership summit in South Korea.” – Dr. Yun Sun [07:57]

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2. Pentagon, Press Restrictions, and Journalistic Freedom

With John Solomon, Founder of Just the News
[08:17 – 22:34]

Key Points & Insights

• Controversy Over Pentagon Reporting Rules:

  • New rules initially required press outlets to submit stories for Pentagon approval, causing several major media outlets to withdraw their reporters.
  • O’Reilly is incredulous: “That’s nuts!... All the established media, the corporate media pulled out...” – Bill O’Reilly [08:17]

• Revision and Clarification:

  • John Solomon clarifies new rules, defending his decision to remain inside the Pentagon, asserting that updated criteria do not require pre-approval.
    • “There is nothing that says I must submit my story to Pete Hegseth for approval before I do it.” – John Solomon [13:04]
  • The key press objection was to signing a document stating “we understand the document we are signing.” [15:47]

• Issue of Transparency:

  • O’Reilly questions why Secretary Hegseth isn’t publicly addressing the changes.
    • “Why didn’t Hegseth come out and say, you know, maybe we went overboard here? Let’s bring it back a little bit.” – Bill O’Reilly [17:19]
  • Solomon suggests bureaucratic inertia and the government shutdown delayed publication of the final rules.

• New Reporting Focus – Operation “Arctic Frost”:

  • Solomon outlines new revelations about the Justice Department’s post-January 6th investigation, targeting 155 conservatives, including collecting extensive phone data from senators and House members.
    • “This is Russia collusion, too...The Democrats used the investigative power to build a case against Donald Trump not winning in 2024 and called it a criminal investigation when it wasn’t.” – John Solomon [19:07]
  • Both suggest the investigation was more about mapping Trump’s support network for 2024 than crime from January 6th.

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3. U.S. Political Corruption Spotlight: Senator Bob Menendez

With Isabel Vincent, Co-Author of Gold Bar Bob
[22:42 – 34:03]

Key Points & Insights

• Menendez’s Downfall:

  • O’Reilly introduces Menendez as “the most corrupt senator in modern times,” now serving 11 years for multiple crimes involving bribery and wire fraud.
    • “If you want to know about corruption in the United States... Menendez is not alone.” – Bill O’Reilly [33:25]

• The Case and Defense:

  • Gold bullion and $500,000 in new bills were found in his home.
    • “The prosecutors gave the jury gold bars... to sort of feel the corruption.” – Isabel Vincent [25:04]
  • Menendez claimed cultural reasons—keeping money at home was a Cuban tradition, and his wife received gold as customary Lebanese gifts. Prosecutors weren’t convinced.

• The Role of New Jersey Politics:

  • Re-election despite scandal is attributed to ethnic and machine politics.
    • “He always had the Hispanic vote. He always had the anti Castro vote.” – Isabel Vincent [29:52]

• Mutual Blame and Pardon Rumors:

  • Menendez and his wife blamed each other at trial.
    • “It was all theater.” – Isabel Vincent [29:16]
  • Menendez is rumored to be seeking a pardon from Trump, despite having twice voted to impeach him. O’Reilly remains skeptical.

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4. The Changing Landscape and Value of American Higher Education

With Bruce Pearl, Former Auburn Basketball Coach and Sports Analyst
[34:08 – 42:49]

Key Points & Insights

• Ever-Rising Tuition:

  • O’Reilly shares his own education journey and rails against exorbitant prices of elite private colleges:
    • “That’s ridiculous to pay that kind of money to serve.” – Bill O’Reilly [35:26]

• Changing Campus Culture:

  • Pearl notes a shift away from the intended role of “growing up and preparing for life” and towards activism—and that communication and civil disagreement aren’t always taught.
    • “They’re spending way too much time in certain places protesting and not having the ability to communicate, agree to disagree.” – Bruce Pearl [36:42]

• Why the Costs Soared:

  • Pearl attributes high tuition to the private sector’s profit model and fundraising, noting most dollars do not go to faculty—unless you’re a big-time coach.

• Student Mindset and College Alternatives:

  • O’Reilly sees less principle and more aimlessness among students today.
  • Pearl stresses that “college is not for everybody" and promotes respect for trade skills, citing his own son’s successful path as a superintendent.

• Rising Antisemitism:

  • Pearl, as a Jewish coach, notes rising antisemitism on the left, tying it to opposition to American opportunity.
    • “There’s some anti-Semitism because this country provided opportunity. Work hard, get an education. You could be anything you want to be.” – Bruce Pearl [40:48]

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• Dr. Yun Sun:
  “The question is, what does the trade off look like with the pros and cons, with the gives and takes?” [05:13]
• Bill O'Reilly:
  “If Putin’s a threat to China, that’d be the end of it for Putin. Russia can’t even beat Ukraine. Gonna beat China?” [07:38]
• John Solomon:
  “There is nothing that says I must submit my story to Pete Hegseth for approval before I do it.” [13:04]
• Isabel Vincent:
  “Menendez’s main defense was that his wife, Nadine Menendez... put him up to all of this and then made him do it.” [28:08]
• Bruce Pearl:
  “We need more tradesmen. Go call a plumber or an electrician right now. Figure out how much they're getting paid an hour.” [42:08]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:36–08:08] U.S.–China relations with Dr. Yun Sun
• [08:17–22:34] Pentagon press restrictions & “Arctic Frost” with John Solomon
• [22:42–34:03] Corruption and Bob Menendez case with Isabel Vincent
• [34:08–42:49] College costs & culture with Bruce Pearl

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Summary Tone:
O’Reilly is sharp, sardonic, and unafraid to challenge both his guests and conventional wisdom throughout the show. Guests provide expertise and quick repartee, keeping the episode informative and full of candid revelations.

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For more analysis and to watch the full episode, visit BillOReilly.com.

Transcript

[Bill O'Reilly]

Uh, hello.

[Dr. Yun Sun]

Is this Pacific Source Health Plans?

[Bill O'Reilly]

This is a health plan.

[Dr. Yun Sun]

I'm trying to reach Pacific Source.

[Bill O'Reilly]

I know.

[Dr. Yun Sun]

I'll get a person on the phone when I call them.

[Bill O'Reilly]

What do you think I am?

[Pacific Source Health Plans Representative]

I mean, you sound like a person.

[Bill O'Reilly]

That's what counts.

[Pacific Source Health Plans Representative]

Automated systems can do a lot, even sound a lot like people. What automated systems can't do is offer the quality our members rely. Empathy. When you call Pacific Source Health Plans, you'll talk to a person who cares.

[Dr. Yun Sun]

What did you say Your name was?

[Bill O'Reilly]

Nexa 9000. Hmm.

[No Spin News Announcer]

Welcome to the no Spin News Weekend Edition.

[Bill O'Reilly]

I can't predict whether Xi and Trump will get to a place that benefits both countries. I know the Chinese want a deal. I know Trump wants a deal. It's not like Putin. Putin is insane. And I mean that literally. Okay, she's not. Xi wants to go down as the greatest Chinese leader since Mao. And if you read Confronting Evil, you'll know what Mao did. She's not going to do it that way. He can't kill 20 million of his own people as Mao did, but he wants to go down as this big hero. And in order to do that, he's got to have a vibrant Chinese economy. Both countries have a lot to gain here and a lot to lose. All right, so we are on the story. I am way ahead of it. So I hope you will check in with us all this week. Thursday is the big day and cautiously optimistic. That's the memo. Joining us now from Fairfax, Virginia, is an excellent guest on this. Dr. Yun sun is the director of the China Program at the Stimson Center. Am I making any mistakes, Doctor?

[Dr. Yun Sun]

No, absolutely not. Bill, you are absolutely correct that the two countries are looking at a great opportunity. Whether they will capture it, that's a different question.

[Bill O'Reilly]

The mentality of the Chinese is different than the mentality of Americans. And they don't value individual freedom. They're going to do. You know, she's got whatever she gets from Trump, he's got to sell it back in Beijing to the Chinese people. What do you think Xi wants the most?

[Dr. Yun Sun]

Well, going into the negotiation or going into the meeting, I think the Chinese want two things. One, they want tariff reduction. Because currently the US Tariff across the board on Chinese export to the United States is somewhere above 50%. The Chinese want to reduce that tariff in order to increase their exports. So that's for sure. Most of the tariff, while we saw that from the Liberation Day, most of the 145%, that was removed. But what has remained, this 50 plus percent remains to be a huge obstacle for China to increase its export. Just like you said, the Chinese need export to boost their economy. So this is number one. The second issue is the what the Chinese have called the endless new trade restriction measures that U.S. has been putting on China outside the scope of their agreement. Whether this was the agreement in Madrid or agreement from Geneva, the Chinese have perceived these 50% rules, this 301 investigations, and these port fees that the Trump administration had been imposing on China, they want to end or a freeze of new trade measures on China. So those are the two things that the Chinese prioritize, and it seems that.

[Bill O'Reilly]

They'Re doable because Donald Trump is flexible on tariffs, as we've seen. And if you give him something now, I'm going to tell you something that was very interesting in my meeting with the 13 Politburo members at the Beijing Club. I said, they said, what do we have to do to get President Trump to agree to a fair trade agreement? They don't think what Trump is doing is fair. And I said, you got to give him something first of all. And they were kind of all just went back like this and the director of security in Beijing, oh, boy, tough guy. Well, what might that be? I said, you got to get out of the fentanyl business. And there was silence in the room. And I said, why are you in the fentanyl business? And the guy said, well, we don't make fentanyl. We make the precursors. I said, why are you doing that? What benefit is it to you and your people? You don't make that much money doing it. Hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of people all over the world are dying. Why do you want to be in that business? There was no pushback, no answer. So I assume that issues like that, excluding Taiwan, which has to be negotiated separately, not in this situation, but I assume that there'll be give in those kinds of things and that President Trump will give as well. You think that's going to happen?

[Dr. Yun Sun]

I think that is going to happen because we know that whenever there is a leadership summit, the Chinese usually produce something in terms of the agreement. The question is, what does the trade off look like with the pros and cons, with the gives and takes? Like you said, I don't think the Chinese actually care that much about the fentanyl precursors that they're exporting. They don't make that much money out of it, especially if you consider the trade damage, the 20% tariff associated with fentanyl imposed on the Chinese products export to the United States. So the Chinese got to know that the mathematics works in a way that they should give up the fentanyl business.

[Bill O'Reilly]

And it helps their image, because who wants to being associated with fentanyl. Xi want that on his resume. And the final thing is Putin. So you know me because the doctor does watch the program. I'm blabbermouth. And you ask me, I'm gonna tell you. And I said to him, well, why are you guys in business with Putin? What benefit is it for you to enable this guy buy his oil so that he can buy more arms to kill women and children in Ukraine? What good does that do Beijing? You could buy the oil from opec. Trump will sell you oil. All right. At a better price. So why are you doing this again? You didn't. You don't get a lot of answers, and I didn't expect them. But I think Putin is going to come up, don't you?

[Dr. Yun Sun]

I do think that Putin is going to come out, but I also think what China would deliver in terms of Russia is going to be limited. They probably will deliver something. If you look at the past week, I think the Chinese have already suspended their. The oil import from sealing from the. From the sea. So the oil that, the import from Russia through the sea, I think that is a precursor or that's a preparation for some of the meetings that Xi will be having with President Trump. But on the other hand, I don't think the Chinese will cut off their oil trade and other transactions with Putin at all. Because for the Chinese, they also have to be considerate of the fact, like you pointed out, that Putin is crazy. And when you live next door to a crazy big neighbor with one of the largest nuclear arsenals in the world, you have to calculate your steps very carefully. You're not going to give that neighbor everything, but you also have to give that neighbor something.

[Bill O'Reilly]

I don't know. If Putin's a threat to China, that'd be the end of it for Putin. Russia can't even beat Ukraine. I'm going to beat China. Hey, Doctor, we really appreciate your expertise. We'll hope you come back.

[Bruce Pearl]

We.

[Bill O'Reilly]

One final question. Are you optimistic something good is going to come out this week?

[Dr. Yun Sun]

Yes. I think we're going to look at a relatively positive outcome from the, from the leadership summit in South Korea, what that looks like, we will have to look at the details.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Nobody can predict that. Appreciate it, Doctor. We'll talk again soon.

[No Spin News Announcer]

I hope you're listening to the no Spa News Weekend Edition.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Let's go to the Department of war again. So not only are they blowing up alleged drug boats, but they are blowing up reportage at the Pentagon. So this story came from the secretary, Pete Hegseth, and he says, you know what? If you are in the Pentagon physically as a reporter, you have to submit what you're going to write or say on radio and television to me before you do it. And I said, that's nuts. All right. And then it was some pushback roll of tape. So I got a couple of letters, and I know on social media, some MAGA people going, that's right, Hank.

[John Solomon]

Seth.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Right. Let's make all the press agencies that cover the Pentagon sign a paper that they will not report anything that happens in the Pentagon unless they get permission from Pete. Hag said, you kidding me? All right. So everybody pulled out. All the established media, the corporate media pulled out, but there are still organizations that have said, okay, all right, we're going to. We're going to play along with this. And one of them surprised me very, very much.

[John Solomon]

So.

[Bill O'Reilly]

You know that we have the utmost respect for John Solomon's news operation called Just the News. And he. He's going along with Hegseth. He joins us now from Washington, D.C. i was surprised. John, you're a staunch freedom of the press guy, and nobody pushes you around. Why? Why would you do that?

[John Solomon]

Well, first off, these rules are not really any different than what have been in place or what's in the law for years. And I think that that's one of the great parts of the disinformation campaign, that these standards weren't in place for the last 40 or 50 years. The current Press association goes back to the 1940s, and we made public for everybody to see all the censorship restrictions that the Pentagon Press poll agreed starting in 1942. By the way, they submitted their work back in those days to a department of censorship, Just so you know. Now, obviously, that was wartime footing, but the press association has always been in a position of having to abide by certain national security rules to gain access to the building. And by the way, just recently, we put out all of the forms that the New York Times, the Associated Press, and others use to visit Gitmo for the trials. And they.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Let me stop you there. The difference between national security reporting, because there's a law.

[John Solomon]

Yeah.

[Bill O'Reilly]

It goes all the way back to the Pentagon Papers in Vietnam. There is a law.

[John Solomon]

There is.

[Bill O'Reilly]

If there's classified information that you or me or anybody else reports and you violate that classified status, government could prosecute you. That's not the same as submitting a routine report to Pete Hegseth that he can say yes or no and tell you what you can and cannot say.

[John Solomon]

It's not the same, John.

[Bill O'Reilly]

You know that.

[John Solomon]

That is not what the final rules say. I had my lawyer go through every single line.

[Bill O'Reilly]

All right, well, so what's the rule? What. What does just the news have to do to stay in the Pentagon and report?

[John Solomon]

By the way, I actually wasn't in the Pentagon. I decided to go into the Pentagon because there's a void. So we didn't have a reporter there. I didn't operate under the other rules. I've been able to cover the Pentagon effectively on the outside, but when so many people left, I decided to make sure we had a reporter there because, hey, we're blowing up Venezuelan boats every couple days. We're in armed conflict. We had a major thing. I felt it important to have a reporter there in. The rules under which Pete Hegseth asked us to abide by for that reporter in the Pentagon are not any different than what the Associated Press operated under when I was the assistant bureau chief for AP 20 years ago. You can't solicit classified information. You can't go and tell someone, please leak me a classified document.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Nobody has a problem with that. Classified information is different than a reporting.

[John Solomon]

But that's what these rules say. That's right. That's what these rules say. They say you can't go to certain parts of the building without an escort. That's always been the case. That's blacks. Yeah, but that's right.

[Bill O'Reilly]

That's not what the press is objecting to. They're objecting to having to submit stories to the defense secretary, the war secretary, and he signs off on it.

[John Solomon]

No, find me that passage in the final rules. It's not in the final rules. That is the great story. A lot of the people that reported on this bill reported on an earlier set of rules from September. They never showed the public the final rules. I read the final rules. I've published the final rules. There is nothing that says I must submit my story to Pete Hegseth for approval before I do it. It does say I can't roam the building in certain places. It does say that I can't solicit national security information. The final rules, which were published after the shutdown began, and you can't find them in the New York Times stories that mention them. Aren't that now, we interviewed and we got. I'm going to tell you how this story evolved. The media is reporting what the early rules from September showed, not what was ultimately issued in October.

[Bill O'Reilly]

So you say it was revised. There was a revision made by Hegseth, is that right?

[John Solomon]

Hegseth? In concession to the media.

[Bill O'Reilly]

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[John Solomon]

Yep. And the rules that ultimately were published. The rules are ultimately published are no different than what we operated under for the last.

[Bill O'Reilly]

All right, I got that point, but I'm not, I wasn't aware that there was a revision by the Secretary of War.

[John Solomon]

May be intentional, by the way.

[Bill O'Reilly]

What exactly? Sure.

[John Solomon]

Let me tell you why the media didn't want people to know what the they wanted to keep the old debate up, that this was a censorship debate when it wasn't. Let me tell you what this ultimately came down to. And how do I know this? Because I have the internal emails of the Pentagon press poll to the key handlers in Hegseth's office. What were they objecting to at the end? They no longer objected to any of the restrictions. You can look at this document. It's up on just the news. They did not want to sign a document that had the words we understand the document we are signing. That was the final objection raised by the Pentagon Press association lawyer David Schultz in this memoir. They didn't object to anything else in the rules after they were revised.

[Bill O'Reilly]

But Fox News and Newsmax, very pro Hegseth, very pro Trump. They, they pulled out, too. So there had to be some kind of onerous provision for them to make that move.

[John Solomon]

I. I will tell you, I would never have signed the original rules in September. The rules that came out in October, which, by the way, we weren't at the Pentagon. We decided to step into the void because I think it's dangerous not to have a person at the Pentagon at this moment in history. They did not require me to get any prior consent from Pete Hegseth or anyone at the Pentagon.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Let me ask you this, then.

[John Solomon]

Yeah.

[Bill O'Reilly]

I didn't know that the rules were revised, and I'm pretty on it.

[Dr. Yun Sun]

Okay.

[Bill O'Reilly]

And so is my staff. We're on it.

[John Solomon]

Yep.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Why didn't Hegseth come out and say, you know, maybe we maybe went overboard here. Let's bring it back a little bit? Yeah. Why do you think he didn't do that?

[John Solomon]

Well, it's funny, I think when you look at the exchange of emails between Hegseth and the press association, that was the conversation. Hey, we've made these things. We heard what you said. No, we're not going to require.

[Bill O'Reilly]

But it wasn't to the public. I don't care about the dopey press. Why didn't Hegseth just sit down, have a press conference?

[John Solomon]

We'll have to ask people why. I don't know the answer. You know, I made.

[Bill O'Reilly]

That is a good question. And now that you're there and we're.

[John Solomon]

Going to ask it for you.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Yeah. You're probably the leading news organization there.

[John Solomon]

I mean, you are. Yeah, we're going to work.

[Isabel Vincent]

Yeah.

[Bill O'Reilly]

So what. What are you doing? Why don't you just make this public and tamp it down?

[John Solomon]

Right.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Because I do have no.

[John Solomon]

I can tell you this. The.

[Isabel Vincent]

The.

[John Solomon]

The final rules never got published because the office that publishes them got closed by the shutdown. Now, I think that's a lousy excuse for not publishing them, and it's a really lousy excuse that the media used, too, because they didn't publish them in their own store.

[Bill O'Reilly]

You can type them up and then throw them.

[John Solomon]

He can talk anytime he wants, so he owes us. We'll get that explanation.

[Bill O'Reilly]

All right, John. But when you get an answer to that question, let me know. So what do you guys. What are you guys working on now?

[John Solomon]

I think the big story of the next few days is going to be the next Revelations in Arctic Frost, which is an investigation that looks like it was about January 6th in stopping the electors, but really was the second major operation opposition research project for the Democratic parties that masqueraded as A criminal investigation. We're going to learn in the next few hours, bill, that over 155 conservatives were targeted in an alleged plot to stop the counting of votes. Now, there can't possibly have been 155 people working together to stop the January 6th count going on. There aren't that many senators even in the Senate chamber. This was launched a year and a half after January 6th occurred. Why do you start a criminal investigation about January 6th, a year and a half later? And then why are you widening it to the sort of things we have? So 155 conservatives targeted 92 groups. In addition to those 155, 30 million lines of phone data being gathered, including phone data on eight sitting senators and a House member. This is Russia collusion, too. And what you're doing is the Democrats used the investigative power to build a case against Donald Trump not winning in 2024 and called it a criminal investigation when it wasn't. And I think the.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Who is the FBI chief who had to sign off on this and by.

[John Solomon]

The way, appointed by Trump.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Yeah, right. What did he want to accomplish, in your opinion?

[John Solomon]

It's unclear how well he understood what was going on. It's clear from the FBI agent who opens the case, a guy named Tim Tebow who is openly anti Trump. He's the guy that had those anti Trump motives.

[Bill O'Reilly]

All right, what did he want to accomplish? What did he. By tapping these eight senators and by, you know, doing all this nefarious stuff. What was the end game? What did they want?

[John Solomon]

They wanted to be able to map anybody and everybody that was in support of Donald Trump who could come back and help him in 2024 win reelection. Again, the reason this doesn't open until the spring and summer of 2024, based on the 2022. Excuse me, a year and a half after you think you'd be opening a January 6th investigation, is Trump began looking viable again in the spring and summer of 22. His numbers are coming up. He, he's on the trail. Nothing has knocked him off his game. And I think at that point, they go back to Russia collusion.

[Bill O'Reilly]

So what I'm getting from you, and it's a little murky, is that the Justice Department under Biden. Yep. Wanted to show that certain conservatives both in and out of government. All right. Had worked with President Trump gin up this January 6th riot.

[John Solomon]

Well, that is what the predicate of the investigation says. But some of the people that I look at don't seem to have any role at all on January 6th no, I'm not.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Listen, but I just want to know what they were fishing for. What are you fishing for?

[John Solomon]

I think they came up with a map of everybody that would be in Trump's 2024 MAGA camp and tried to pin them down with legal liabilities, get a lawyer, go before a grand jury, have to spend money, get your attention off of winning the 2024 election by fighting.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Why would they have to get a lawyer? Because they colluded to foster a riot. Is that what they.

[John Solomon]

The ultimate investigation is not about the riot. This investigation was purportedly. Were they trying to stop, either get fake electors named or stop the counting for a couple of days so that.

[Bill O'Reilly]

More counting of the election. Okay.

[John Solomon]

Yeah, I got.

[Bill O'Reilly]

All right. All right. Let me know what you find out. And, you know, tell Hegseth I send my best.

[John Solomon]

I will. We'll get you that answer, I promise.

[Bill O'Reilly]

I don't think he's a fan of mine, but, you know, we want to be fair, John, you know that anyone.

[John Solomon]

Who'S a fan of the truth is a fan of yours. I will say.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Okay. Appreciate it. We'll talk soon.

[No Spin News Announcer]

This is the no Spin News Weekend Edition.

[Bill O'Reilly]

There is a new book that you should know about. It's called Gold Bar Bob, the Downfall of The Most Corrupt U.S. senator by Isabel Vinson and Thomas Jason Anderson. They are reporters for the New York Post. It is a good book. Okay. I am reading it now. Now to make this interview easier, let us introduce you to former Senator Bob Menendez, who the authors say the most corrupt senator in modern times. He was convicted on July 16, 2024, conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services, wire fraud, committing extortion under the color of official right obstruct justice, Two counts of bribery, more wire fraud, on and on and on and on. He got convicted of all of these counts, serving 11 years in the federal penitentiary in Allenwood, Pennsylvania. If you want to visit him or send him a Christmas card, this is a bad guy. All right. So Menendez I've known for many years. In fact, his daughter is a television person and I helped her when I was at the O'Reilly Factor. All right. Very nice woman, but her father was always, in my opinion, very corrupt. He is the son of Cuban immigrants and he started in New Jersey with the help of a lot of powerful Cuban nefarious characters in Union City. Joining us now is Isabel Vincent from New York City. She's an investigative reporter for the New York Post, as mentioned, and co author of Gold Bar Bob. So, yeah, the guys grew up and all of us knew it. And he was. He got off in 2020, 2013. He was charged, and then they had a mistrial. And then the Trump Justice Department didn't go after him, didn't retry him. I was stunned when I read that in your book, Isabel. Why do you think the Trump J Department let him go?

[Isabel Vincent]

I think they couldn't pin anything on him at that time. And what's interesting is that Bob Menendez has always said that he is a victim of lawfare like Donald Trump. After he was convicted, he started saying that on X, that everybody was after him. But we have to remember that it was the Biden Justice Department that went after him. And I think they went after him because they had such tangible proof of corruption. I mean, you'll recall that in the first days of the trial, the prosecutors gave the jury gold bars. They actually gave them gold bullion to hold onto and to sort of feel the corruption.

[Bill O'Reilly]

And that was taken from Menendez's house, right?

[Isabel Vincent]

It was taken from his closet as well as almost $500,000 in cash. Cash was stuffed into his boots and into his.

[Bill O'Reilly]

And his defense lawyer said, what about that?

[Isabel Vincent]

A few things. That, that because he was Cuban and had been raised in a certain way, his father had always said, always have money at home. So he claimed he took out money every week from his bank account and just kept it at home. Unfortunately, the bills that the FBI found were new bills. They weren't bills that had come from 40 years ago. And the other thing he said was that his wife, who is also convicted of bribery and acting as a foreign agent, the same things he was convicted of. She said that she's from Lebanon. And in Lebanon, it's a traditional way to in families to give gifts of gold. So they tried to say that that gold was from.

[Harry Cole]

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[Isabel Vincent]

Her family in Lebanon. But it was from people who wanted favor.

[Bill O'Reilly]

It's just foolish nonsense. But Menendez, I guess this week or last week, threw his wife, to use a cliche, under the proverbial bus. How did he do that?

[Isabel Vincent]

So he started right from the beginning of his trial. They were indicted together, and then they decided, his lawyers decided that it would be best for both of them, or so they said, to do the trial separately. So during his trial, Menendez's main defense was that his wife, Nadine Menendez, his second wife, put him up to all of this and then made him do it to do the wrongdoing. And then what was strange was that Mrs. Menendez, at her sentencing hearing, you know, put herself out there as a victim of domestic abuse and saying that Bob Menendez was the best guy she'd ever been with, except when he threw her under the bus during the trial. So she then threw him under the bus. But then at the very end of the trial, at the very end of this sentencing hearing, her lawyer asked Judge Stein, Justice Sidney Stein, when can I go visit my husband? Because as a convicted felon, there are rules about, you know, entering the felons.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Yeah, they're sure.

[Isabel Vincent]

So it was just. It was all theater.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Here's what I don't understand. The first trial where it was a mistrial, and then they didn't bring it back for a second time, it was pretty tawdry. You had women involved, and you had allegations that Menendez had 19 private jet flights paid for him. $750,000 in campaign funds went to him, and the people of Florida still reelected him. How could that happen? Florida, people of New Jersey. People of New Jersey. I'm sorry, all you Floridians, New Jersey.

[Isabel Vincent]

Reelected him because he's such a powerful person. He had the backing of, you know, he always had the Hispanic vote. He always had the anti Castro vote. So he was able to rally, you know, a lot of the Republicans who wanted the US to be tough on Castro and on Cuba. I think that was like a big factor. But also because the trial took place in New Jersey, and he's where he is, you know, a favorite son. This new.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Why. Why wouldn't people turn against him? I mean, gold bar. This was before the gold bars. This was the first one. But the first one was salacious. He's Running around with these guys.

[Isabel Vincent]

One of the most salacious things I discovered was that he had asked his benefactor south, a South Florida eye doctor to he or his benefactor had asked him to get visas for all of his foreign girlfriends. And Bob just went into the Senate office and you need to get, you know, this was something that had to be done right away. And they were all these, you know, bikini models and stuff like that. I couldn't believe that this was going on.

[Bill O'Reilly]

But you know what? You know, I'm blaming it partially on the media because the local television media didn't give this a lot of play play. And I mentioned it, but I wasn't, you know, on it. But I was surprised when the good people of New Jersey reelected Menendez. But he was wired into a lot of gangsters in Union City. I mean, this guy was really bad to the bone from the very beginning, correct?

[Isabel Vincent]

Yes. So we're talking about. In my book, in our book, we go back to Menendez in high school. Menendez, the corruption started then when he was given a place on the Union City school board by his mentor, Bill Musto, who was the product of the Democratic machine, the local Democratic boss in Union City. And at that time, we see Menendez dispensing favors to his family members. His mother gets a job with the school board, his sister gets a job with the school board. After Menendez is married, he gets married very early. I think he was in his early 20s. His wife gets a job with the school.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Everybody gets a job. But that's Jersey. I mean, the Sopranos. We know that now. Last question for you. Menendez, I understand, is angling for a pardon from President Trump. And it's to the Biden administration's credit that they went after him. The Justice Department and Merrick Garland convicted him. And he's in Federal pen for 11 years. And you have to serve most of that time. It's not like state prison. You got to serve most of the 11. And his wife is going to be go to prison next summer.

[John Solomon]

Right.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Nadine is on the way. What did she get? I forget what you had in there.

[Isabel Vincent]

You got four and a half years.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Four and a half. Okay.

[Isabel Vincent]

The judge felt bad for her because of her breast cancer battle.

[Bill O'Reilly]

But Menendez, the rumor is that he's trying to get a pardon from Trump. Is that what you're hearing?

[Isabel Vincent]

So I've heard that for many months he was trying to get a pardon from Trump just after Trump was elected. But here's the thing. Menendez voted twice to impeach Trump during.

[John Solomon]

His.

[Bill O'Reilly]

He'S like Puff Daddy. It's like, yeah, I can't see it. Yeah, I can't see it. No. Menendez was absolutely in a Democrat machine. All right. The book is Gold Bar Bob. That's easy to remember. And if you want to know about corruption in the United States and believe me, Menendez is not alone. He is not alone. And in confronting the president, Isabel, you might have noticed how corrupt Lyndon Johnson was and he became president. My God. And I appreciate you coming on and talking about your book. Good, good luck with it.

[No Spin News Announcer]

You're listening to the no Spin News Weekend Edition.

[Bill O'Reilly]

College. So I am the most over educated American I know of. I have a degree in history, Marist College, Poughkeepsie, New York. The master's degree in broadcast journalism, Boston University. And I have another master's degree in public administration from Harvard, the Kennedy School. That cost me a blanking fortune. Okay. My father helped with the history degree, but I paid for all the other stuff and I didn't borrow any money. I just worked my butt off painting houses, driving cabs, doing whatever I had to do. Now it was worth it for me. It was 50 year career still rocking at this age, millions watching me. This is worth it. I know. A lot. But I had to pay for it. So US Citizen Royal Report ranks the most expensive private colleges. Here they are, USC University, Southern California, 75K, Brown in Rhode Island, 75K, Vassar, Poughkeepsie, New York, 74K, Amherst, Massachusetts, 74K, Colgate, upstate New York, 74K. Okay. They are the most expensive. And that's ridiculous to pay that kind of money to serve.

[Bruce Pearl]

Now.

[Bill O'Reilly]

I paid for my children's education. I paid for them in the Bronx. Way too much money. Salve Regina in Newport, Rhode island for my son was fair. Now my son's at Georgetown. I'm paying that too. It's not crazy. But you know, I feel that my children need this education. Joining us now is a guy who has been in the college, I don't know, college employment, that's fair, 43 years. You may know him. His name is Bruce Pearl. He was the head basketball coach at Auburn University in Alabama from 2014-25. Just got out of there. He works at Turner Sports now and CBS analyzing college basketball games. So I wanted you on a program number one, because I like what you've done with your teams are disciplined, they're honest. But 43 years, you have got to have seen an enormous change on American college campuses. Can you tell us the biggest change that you've seen.

[Bruce Pearl]

Well, Bill, great to be with you. Big fan for a long, long time.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Thank you, coach.

[Bruce Pearl]

And you know what, Bill? You made an investment. Your family made an investment in your future. Like you, I paid for a lot of my education myself. Colleges are supposed to play. We're supposed to get educated. We're supposed to grow up, get some experience and prepare for life after college. And I'm not sure that our universities are all doing that right now. They're spending way too much time in certain places protesting and not having the ability to communicate, agree to disagree. And the price tag right now is ridiculous. And so the question is, where is there going to be a bang for the buck? Because parents right now are looking all over the country, where can I send my child? Where they're going to get, where they're going to be. First of all, be safe to be able to practice their religion they want to practice or not being concerned about what color or shade they are, so on and so forth and where there is going to be good value. Those places still exist, but I think we're getting to see that there are a lot of places that that is just not the case.

[Bill O'Reilly]

No, there's no doubt about it. You got to check those colleges out. But state schools are fairly reasonable as far as tuition is concerned. But what do you think in the private realm has driven the cost up so fast and so high? Why are they charging so much money?

[Bruce Pearl]

Well, I can't explain that the private schools are for profit. And so therefore there's got to be a profit model. And they also do a great job with their foundations, going to former alums and saying, hey, if it wasn't for what we did for you here at Boston University, you would not be Bill O'Reilly so on and so forth. So they raised tuition, they raise a great deal of money. And I don't think it's just because they're paying their faculty a lot. Unless, of course, you're a football coach or a basketball coach.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Right.

[Bruce Pearl]

Your school then. Then you're getting paid.

[Bill O'Reilly]

That's not college, though. That's a business now. That's not even college anymore. What about the individual college student on your teams you impose discipline. You had the authority to do that. But on a campus itself, the kids have changed. I went to college undergrad during the Vietnam era was crazy talk about protests, and it was absolutely nuts. But there was a mindset, a traditional mindset many students had, and I think that's all gone now. They just go with the wind a Lot of these kids, they don't know a lot, and they kind of like, just go with what they hear, what their peers are saying. Or am I wrong on that?

[Bruce Pearl]

You're right, Bill, but I think a lot depends on where you go. Like, you want to judge me, judge me by the company I keep, judging by my wife, judge me by my friends, judging by the people that I hire. So when these families are making decisions about where they want to go, who do you want to surround yourself with? What students? What kind of a faculty do you want to surround yourself? Let's face it, there's been a tremendous amount of foreign money and influences that have gotten into higher education. You've got a tremendous number of international students and faculty that are. Obviously got a bit of a spin. And so, you know, for me, it's all about faith. It's all about family. It's all about loving our country. Bill, when we got away from teaching patriotism and we got away from teaching the incredible opportunities that our students have in this country. I'm a Jewish college basketball coach. I have faced tremendous antisemitism. It is on the move. It is growing. But guess what? This is still the greatest country in the world, as there were 3 Jewish basketball coaches in this last season's Final Four.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Now, how did it manifest itself, that anti Semitism? How did that manifest itself to a guy as powerful as you?

[Bruce Pearl]

Well, I mean, growing up, obviously not.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Growing up, but in the school. All right, in the school system, the college system. You said you saw some anti Semitism. Certainly there. We know it's there.

[Bruce Pearl]

No, no, no, no. Not in this. I'll tell you something. No anti Semitism, very little in the South. Very. I saw hardly any of it. I'll tell you what, I think the roots of the anti Semitism, even in the educational system. Bill, again, American Jewry should be the greatest patriots in this country. Why? Because this country saved us from certain death. There are very few places that we're safe to be, and this is one of them. You know why the socialists, so many of them don't like Jewish people. There's some anti Semitism because this country provided opportunity. Work hard, get an education. You could be anything you want to be. That's for everyone. And it really upsets the socialists and the people that, you know, don't believe in a democratic capitalistic system. That's partly why there's been such a rise of anti Semitism on the left.

[Bill O'Reilly]

It's always been that way, though, ever since Truman recognized Israel. The, you know, Israel has been a fascist state. It stole the land. You know the history. Last question for you. Say I'm a 18 year old high school and I can fix stuff and I got talent as far as that's concerned. But I come to you and I go, coach, is it really worth while? Spend 300,000 going to a college or should I just go into a trade? I can make a good living doing that. What would your answer be to that student?

[Bruce Pearl]

Well, I have four children, Bill. Three have gotten their degrees and one is a superintendent building homes. And he tried the school thing, didn't love it. He was great fixing things and building things. We need more tradesmen. Go call a plumber or an electrician right now. Figure out how much they're getting paid an hour. Okay, no, colleges is not for everybody. But the thing that I would recommend is take a look at the deep south. Look at the SEC universities. We had 65,000 kids apply for 5,000 spots at Auburn. Why? Again, high quality education, great student life. You know, people respect one another. God, family, country.

[Bill O'Reilly]

These places are much more patriotic than New York City where we have to do NYU and Columbia. We know the cultural difference. Hey, coach, thanks for taking the time to talk to us. We're happy that you're on cbs. They need some wisen up there and that network. And we'll talk again soon, I hope.

[No Spin News Announcer]

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[Isabel Vincent]

Now our son's new girlfriend, a former student.

[Bruce Pearl]

Don't miss Anniversary.

[Pacific Source Health Plans Representative]

You know, I used to be afraid of you.

[Isabel Vincent]

I don't think I am anymore.

[Bruce Pearl]

Starring Diane Lane and Kyle Chandler. We need to be careful.

[Pacific Source Health Plans Representative]

She's trying to obliterate us.

[Bruce Pearl]

Anniversary.

[No Spin News Announcer]

Rated R.