Updated

The headline Wednesday in The Times reads: "Conservatives Split Deeply Over Attacks on Justice Department Lawyers." The article says that Liz Cheney's group, Keep America Safe, has alienated some on the right because the group is criticizing American lawyers who have defended captured terrorists.

It is true that people like Judge Ken Starr and some conservative groups like The Federalist Society have said there is nothing wrong with a lawyer defending a jihadist.

And "Talking Points" agrees. The best example is John Adams, who as a young lawyer defended a Brit involved in the Boston Massacre, certainly an act of terror.

But here's the kicker on The New York Times. We can find no high-profile conservative who has criticized attorneys for the job of defending incarcerated terrorists. Certainly no journalist working at Fox News has done that. Commentator Monica Crowley did say she believes some lawyers hired by the Justice Department may sympathize with some of the terrorists. And writing in the National Review, conservative Andrew McCarthy said:

"It is perfectly obvious that many progressive lawyers are drawn to the jihadist cause because of common views about the need to condemn American policies and radically alter the United States."

And that's true. The conviction of attorney Lynne Stewart in the Blind Sheikh case proves it.

So there is no controversy within the conservative community. I believe 90 percent of those on the right support attorneys for jihadists. Again, that is our system, and it is an excellent example to the rest of the world.

What The New York Times doesn't get is that there are legitimate questions about why Attorney General Holder has hired nine lawyers who were involved with terror suspects. Here's what I said about that:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

O'REILLY: I think that when Holder sent that letter to Congress, he was basically saying, look, I'm hiring these guys because they have expertise in this area, just as a white-collar defender would know the tricks of the white-collar felons. I think that's what he meant there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

What The Times also did not report is that the problem exploded because Holder wouldn't tell the American people who he hired. Fox News had to break that story because you have a right to know who's working in the Justice Department.

So the page-one story was bogus. It's not about a controversy among conservatives; it's about who Mr. Holder hired and why.

As I speculated, he may have good reasons, but I shouldn't have to speculate. Holder should tell us, and that's what The New York Times should be concerned about, rather than creating a phony story to denigrate people with whom they disagree.

And that's "The Memo."

Pinheads & Patriots

The winner of the second "Bold Fresh" tour poster, autographed by me and Glenn beck, is Dale Berger.

As we have been telling you, all this week we are auctioning off these unique posters to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project, a very worthy charity.

The winning bid from Dale Berger, who lives in Wauconda, Illinois, was $8,550, which I will match. Dale Berger is a patriot.

If you would like to help the Wounded Warriors, you can bid on BillOReilly.com.

Click here to watch "Pinheads & Patriots"!

On the pinhead front, ladies and gentlemen, Jesse Ventura, who is out trying to get publicity for his new conspiracy theory book:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JESSE VENTURA, FORMER MINNESOTA GOVERNOR: How come the three stooges on later at night won't have me on? That's what I call them: Larry, Moe and Curly, O'Reilly, Hannity and Curly. They won't have me on.

GRETCHEN CARLSON, CO-HOST, "FOX & FRIENDS": Maybe it is because you call them that, I'm not sure.

VENTURA: I just did that today.

CARLSON: OK. I don't think that helps your chances, but anyway....

VENTURA: Good. But they don't have me on anything, they don't have the courage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Pinhead? Quite possibly.