Fox News is citing a nondisclosure agreement as part of the reason it seeks to dismiss lawsuits from women who settled with the network and Bill O’Reilly over abusive treatment.

From The New York Times:

Fox News has taken a page out of President Trump’s playbook, trying to silence the defamation lawsuit of three women who signed hush agreements after settling claims that former network star Bill O’Reilly mistreated and sexually harassed them.

Rachel Witleib Bernstein, Andrea Mackris and Rebecca Diamond, who The New York Times reported were paid not to speak about the gab show host’s handsy behavior, sued in December, saying they were defamed by the network’s executive and the fired best-selling author and host of “The O’Reilly Factor.”

As we reported in December, the three women filed suit over comments by both O’Reilly and Fox News head Rupert Murdoch that insinuated their claims were bogus.

More from the Times:

Fox News lawyers say the women’s statements have no merit because they were not mentioned by name in any comments and the suit should be tossed. The attorneys also filed the women’s nondisclosure agreements — with heavy redactions.

“The statements at issue were not made by Fox News, did not refer to plaintiffs, and are neither defamatory nor disparaging,” Fox lawyers said in court filings.

Listen to comments about the accusers from O'Reilly and Murdoch below and judge for yourself. First, are O’Reilly’s comments, from the September 18, 2017 The Sean Hannity Show, via Media Matters. Underneath are Murdoch’s December 14, 2017 comments, via HuffPost.

(Bill O’Reilly caricature by Nina Brodsky)