"General Electric, which owns NBC, has been very aggressive in supporting President Obama. There is also emerging evidence that GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt and NBC News chief Jeff Zucker told CNBC personnel to stop criticizing Obama's economic policies. In addition, the hateful MSNBC network continues to air vicious attacks, such as when actress Janeane Garofalo called 'tea party' protesters 'racists.' This week Factor producer Jesse Watters attended the GE shareholder meeting and asked Immelt about Garofalo's comments. When Immelt said MSNBC 'has standards,' he was roundly booed. Most CEOs would have stopped NBC's corruption a long time ago, but Immelt may be looking for a major payoff. According to the Washington Examiner, GE is lobbying the Obama administration for bailout money. The company is also pushing for the 'cap and trade' program and would manage billions of dollars should that carbon tax pass Congress. Think about this: A failing corporation may reap billions of dollars if the feds okay the carbon deal. So it's not a stretch to assume that Immelt would want to help President Obama as much as possible. It is a major story when a powerful corporation may be using its power and the airwaves to influence politics in order to make money from government contracts. That kind of corruption would make Watergate look small."

Fox News analyst Laura Ingraham entered the No Spin Zone with her take on the General Electric story. "I'm thinking about how the left," Ingraham said, "turned itself inside and out about Halliburton during the Iraq war. Well, if this story is true, we have a situation where GE is set to make hundreds of millions of dollars off this cap and trade bill. At MSNBC, when they report on these stories, the viewers should know that GE is set to benefit handsomely from this program going through. I'd like to hear from all those high-minded journalism professors." The Factor stressed the magnitude of this allegation. "If this is true, this is an abuse of power that we've never seen before here in America. It's staggering."

Far left MoveOn.org is campaigning for a special prosecutor to investigate the Bush administration's anti-terror tactics. The Factor spoke with Debra Burlingame and Hamilton Peterson, both of whom had relatives murdered by terrorists on 9/11. "These interrogation techniques kept our country safe," Burlingame asserted, "and President Obama's own chief of intelligence said so. The interrogation program was vetted and funded by a bipartisan Congress, so it's a travesty that the president has now given this classified information to our enemies. They're laughing at us today." Peterson was equally disgusted with the release of CIA memos describing interrogation techniques. "The Obama administration and the New York Times have provided an enormous gift to Al Qaeda and our other enemies. It is unforgivable and indefensible. The truth is that President Bush and Vice President Cheney protected this country for the last eight years." In the interest of fairness, The Factor pointed out that "there are families who lost loved ones on 9/11 who don't see it your way."

The Factor welcomed "60 Minutes" correspondent Leslie Stahl, whose interview with Vice President Biden will air on Sunday. "What I learned," Stahl said, "is that they are not muzzling him. He has this reputation for making gaffes and talking too much, but the administration has said they'll take that liability and turn it into an asset. He goes out and talks and connects with people." Stahl specifically asked the vice president about enhanced interrogation. "He says there was minimum value obtained," Stahl reported, "and there was great damage done to the United States." The Factor respectfully disagreed with Biden. "Whatever they did was done to protect us, and it worked. That's undeniable. The main obligation of President Obama and Vice President Biden is to protect Americans."

Devout Catholic Mel Gibson is getting a divorce, prompting derision from some on the left. The Factor asked entertainment reporter Jeanne Wolf about the hostility toward Gibson. "He made one gigantic error," Wolf said, "in his drunken anti-Semitic rant. But he doesn't deserve this - maybe we all should remember the words kindness and forgiveness." Journalist and blogger Andrew Breitbart suggested that Gibson is paying a price for his politics. "What Mel Gibson is undergoing right now is exactly what Miss California experienced and what Sarah Palin experienced. The media attacks people who hold traditional conservative religious values. They're claiming he's a hypocrite, which is the angle the left media likes to nail people on." The Factor expanded on the glaring double standard: "If you're on the left-hand side of the road and you commit a transgression, it's pretty much overlooked. If you are a conservative religious person and you commit a sin, you get hammered."

Donald Trump owns the Miss USA beauty pageant, where Miss California Carrie Prejean famously stated her opposition to same-sex marriage. The Factor asked Trump to opine on the controversy. "She was very honest," Trump replied, "and I respected that because she gave her opinion. She was punished in certain ways and other people love what she said. She probably would not have won regardless of the question, which is an important fact." The Factor objected to Miss USA judge Perez Hilton, who asked the question about gay marriage and later mocked Prejean's answer. "He is not there to judge on the merits of the contest, he is going to take into account someone's personal beliefs. It looks like Miss California was punished because she expressed an answer in an honest way. We don't do that in America."

Former General Janis Karpinski, who was demoted after the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, is now blaming her superiors for the interrogation practices. The Factor put forth this Reality Check: "I'll make this offer - if you have proof of that, send it to me and we will put it on the air." On the subject of torture, The Factor delineated the pain being felt by Fox News competitors: "Ratings for April are just about in and once again Fox News dominates - we have ten out of the top ten shows in total audience. The Factor at 8:00 beats all the competition combined with a quarter-million viewers to spare."

Thursday's Patriot: Actress Mia Farrow, who is beginning a 21-day hunger strike to call attention to the atrocities in Darfur. And the Pinhead: Mike Tyson, who excused rapper Chris Brown's beating of his girlfriend Rihanna.

Sean McCarry, Clifton Heights, PA: "Bill, I agree that Bush was right to use harsh interrogations to prevent further attacks. But Ellis Henican has a point when he says we should find out if it was legal."

Kathy DelFraino, Boardman, OH: "Bill, Ellis was so wrong in the debate. You would waterboard to prevent Mr. Henican from being murdered but he would not do the same for you."

Avery Castille, Parks, LA: "Mr. O, I was waiting for you to waterboard Ellis. Has it been rescheduled?"

Rette Buncich, Tunkhannock, PA: "Waterboarding for whatever reason is cruel and shameful."