Lis Wiehl (born August 19, 1961) is a ''New York Times'' bestselling American author of fiction and nonfiction books, and a legal analyst. She is the author of twenty books, including, most recently, ''A Spy in Plain Sight: The Inside Story of the FBI and Robert Hanssen―America's Most Damaging Russian Spy'', published by Pegasus Books. After working at NBC News and

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

's ''

All Things Considered ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...

'', Wiehl moved to the

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is o ...

Channel (FNC) where she served as a legal analyst and reporter for over fifteen years, appearing on numerous FNC shows. She is a regular commentator for CNN and also appears often on CBS, NPR and other news outlets. Wiehl earned her

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each c ...

, her

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

Literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to ...

from the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

, and a bachelor's degree from

Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...

, Columbia University.

Early life and education

Wiehl was born in

Yakima, Washington Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, and the state's 11th-largest city by population. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The uninc ...

, and graduated from West Valley High School in Yakima. She received a bachelor's degree from

, Columbia University in 1983, a

from the

in 1985, and a

from

in 1987.

Career

After graduating from Harvard Law School, Wiehl practiced law at

Perkins Coie Perkins Coie is an American multinational law firm headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1912, it is recognized as an Am Law 50 firm. It is the largest law firm headquartered in the Pacific Northwest and has 20 offices across the Un ...

, a private law firm in Seattle where she also wrote by-lined articles on legal issues for the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. From there she went on to become a third generation federal prosecutor (her grandfather and her father — an FBI agent — were also federal prosecutors) in the US Attorney's Office in Seattle. She served as the Deputy Chief Investigative Counsel for Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee during

President Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...

's impeachment. From 1995 to 2001, she was a tenured law professor at the

University of Washington School of Law The University of Washington School of Law is the law school of the University of Washington, located on the northwest corner of the main campus in Seattle, Washington. The 2023 '' U.S. News & World Report'' law school rankings place Washi ...

in Seattle, where she ran the Trial Advocacy Program, which won several national awards during her tenure. During her time at the University of Washington, Wiehl also stepped deeper into journalism by working as a reporter and legal analyst for NPR's ''All Things Considered'' and NBC News. She soon came to be in high demand for her commentary. From 2001 to 2017, Wiehl was a legal analyst for The Fox News Channel; she appeared weekly on ''

The O'Reilly Factor ''The O'Reilly Factor'' (originally titled ''The O'Reilly Report'' and also known as ''The Factor'') is an American cable television news and talk show. ''The O'Reilly Factor'' first aired in the United States on Fox News Channel on October 7 ...

'', '' Your World with Neil Cavuto'', ''

The Kelly File ''The Kelly File'' was an American news television program hosted by journalist and former attorney Megyn Kelly on the Fox News Channel. The program was a spinoff of ''The O'Reilly Factor'', and focused on late-breaking stories in a live format ...

with Megyn Kelly'', ''

Lou Dobbs Tonight ''Lou Dobbs Tonight'' was an American political and financial talk program that was hosted by Lou Dobbs. The program initially aired on CNN from its launch under the title ''Moneyline'', as its main financial news program. The program later shif ...

'', and the Imus morning shows. Wiehl also hosted the ''Legal Lis'' radio show and the ''Wiehl of Justice'' podcast. In 2005, Wiehl released her first book, ''Winning Every Time: How to Use the Skills of a Lawyer in the Trials of Your Life''. Two years later she released ''The 51% Minority: How Women Still Are Not Equal and What You Can Do About It'' which was awarded the 2008 award for Books for a Better Life in the motivational category. Since then, Wiehl has continued to write best-selling books of fiction and non-fiction including, in 2022, ''A Spy in Plain Sight: The Inside Story of the FBI and Robert Hanssen―America's Most Damaging Russian Spy''. Wiehl was the co-host of ''WOR Tonight With Joe Concha & Lis Wiehl'' on 710 WOR and she was also an adjunct professor of law at New York Law School. She continues to appear in the media as a legal expert and commentator for organizations including CNN, CBS, NBC, and NPR among others. Lis Wiehl lectures at colleges and universities, appears as a keynote speaker, and speaks at bookstores, conferences, and literary festivals.

Bill O'Reilly settlement

Wiehl made sexual harassment allegations against Bill O'Reilly in early 2017 and received a $32 million settlement from him. Fox News was not a party to this settlement and regarded it as a personal issue between O'Reilly and Wiehl. They claim they were not informed of the amount of money involved. Wiehl signed an affidavit on January 17, 2017, stating that she and O'Reilly had settled their dispute. Her allegations and affidavit referred to repeated sexual harassment, a nonconsensual sexual relationship, and sexually explicit e-mails that O'Reilly had sent to her. O'Reilly claims that he forwarded these e-mails to Wiehl, who was working as his personal lawyer, as part of a process where he would forward any threatening e-mails he received to his lawyers.

Books

Stand-alone Non-fiction

* ''A Spy in Plain Sight'', Pegasus Books (May 3, 2022)

The Hunting Series (Non-fiction Series)

* ''Hunting The Unabomber'', Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers-Fiction (April 28, 2020) * ''Hunting Charles Manson'', HarperCollins (June 5, 2018)

Erica Sparks Series

* ''The Separatists'', Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers-Fiction (June 27, 2017) * ''The Candidate'', Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers-Fiction (October 4, 2016) * ''The Newsmakers'', Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers-Fiction (January 19, 2016)

Stand-alone fiction

* ''Snapshot'', Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers-Fiction (January 14, 2014)

Triple Threat Series

* ''Face of Betrayal'', Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers-Fiction (April 7, 2009) * ''Hand of Fate'', Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers-Fiction (April 6, 2010) * ''Heart of Ice'', Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers-Fiction (April 5, 2011) * ''Eyes of Justice'', Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers-Fiction (April 3, 2012)

The East Salem Trilogy

* ''Waking Hours'', Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers-Fiction (October 4, 2011) * ''Darkness Rising'', Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers-Fiction (October 2, 2012) * ''Fatal Tide'', Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers-Fiction (September 17, 2013)

Mia Quinn Mysteries

* ''A Matter of Trust'', Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers-Fiction (March 19, 2013) * ''A Deadly Business'', Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers-Fiction (June 10, 2014) * ''Lethal Beauty'', Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers-Fiction (March 3, 2015)

Nonfiction

* ''Winning Every Time: How to Use the Skills of a Lawyer in the Trials of Your Life'', New York: Ballantine Books (April 26, 2005) * ''The 51% Minority: How Women Still Are Not Equal and What You Can Do About It'', New York: Ballantine Books (February 27, 2007) * ''The Truth Advantage: The 7 Keys to a Happy and Fulfilling Life'', Wiley (November 29, 2011)

References

External links

Official Website for Lis Wiehl

Hunting Charles Manson (publisher's site)

Lis Wiehl on Law & Crime

Lis Wiehl's podcast Pursuit of Justice

New York Law School

Fox News Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wiehl, Lis 1961 births American women lawyers Barnard College alumni Fox News people Harvard Law School alumni Living people Writers from Seattle University of Queensland alumni University of Washington School of Law faculty New York Law School faculty Women legal scholars People associated with Perkins Coie American women academics 21st-century American women