Dear Mr. O'Reilly:

You are the most fearless interviewer on TV, quick to challenge and expose those who try to deceive you and your viewers with misleading and false statements. But that was not what you did when Geraldo Rivera appeared on your program and viciously attacked David Folkenflik of the Baltimore Sun for reporting that Rivera had falsely claimed that he had recited the Lord's prayer on the "hallowed ground" where "friendly fire took so many of our men and the mujahadeen" on Dec. 5. But Rivera was far away in Tora Bora. He clearly lied, but you gave him a pass. He tried to squirm out of it by claiming he was referring to a friendly fire incident in the Tora Bora area, but that incident occurred 3 days after Rivera's report, and the dead did not include any of "our men." He clearly distinguished "our men" from the Afghan mujahadeen. Helping hide Rivera's lie didn't repair his reputation. It hurt yours.