A brief segment on “The O’Reilly Factor” on Thursday has erupted into controversy after it was reported that the program’s “Swedish national security advisor” was actually an ex-convict who’d been living in Virginia. The man, identified in the program as Nils Bildt, was on the program to back up President Trump’s claims that Sweden’s immigration policies were causing major problems in the country. But Swedish reporters and experts soon came forward to report that Bildt was unknown in security circles, and neither the Swedish military nor the Foreign Ministry had any idea who he was. Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter then identified Bildt as one Nils Tolling, who had emigrated from Sweden in 1994 before being hit with a one-year prison sentence for a violent offense in Virginia in 2014. When the newspaper contacted Bildt, he put the blame on Fox News for the misleading title, saying he’d made clear he was only an “independent analyst.” He also denied that he’d spent a year in prison. The executive producer of “The O’Reilly Factor,” David Tabacoff, released a statement defending the show’s decision to book Bildt, saying he’d been recommended and “numerous inquiries” had been made into him.
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