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ABC
- In a leaked video that didn't air, ABC News anchor Amy Robach is seen discussing how upset she was that the network killed her 2015 story that would have outed convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
- Right-wing organization Project Veritas published the video on Tuesday, which it said it obtained from an unnamed network insider and is from August.
- ABC News and Robach both released statements saying the 2015 story didn't meet the network's editorial standards to air.
- Visit BusinessInsider.com for more stories.
ABC News anchor Amy Robach appears to have been caught in a candid moment discussing deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and her network's decision to kill a story that she said would have exposed him years before he became headline news.
In a video published by right-wing organization Project Veritas - which is mostly known for its hidden camera gotcha-videos taken inside progressive companies - Robach appears to be discussing Epstein between news takes.
In the video that Project Veritas said is from August, Robach complains that her 2015 story on Epstein was killed and that she firmly believes that Epstein was murdered.
ABC's Epstein story has yet to see the light of day
In the first portion of the video, Robach openly complains about a story she worked on in 2015 concerning Epstein that she said the network killed, seemingly because of concerns over access to prominent people.
"I've had the story for three years. I've had this interview with Virginia Roberts. We would not put it on the air," she can be heard saying in the video, referring to one of Epstein's most prominent and public victims who now goes by Virginia Giuffre and alleges that she was recruited to be Epstein's sex slave.
Robach said that unnamed detractors attempted to put down the story initially by questioning its newsworthiness. Then, she said, the royal family of England "threatened us a million different ways" after it learned that Robach was reporting on Giuffre's allegations made against Prince Andrew.
"We were so afraid we wouldn't be able to interview Kate [Middleton] and [Prince William], that we, that also quashed the story," she said on the video.
Buckingham Palace released a statement in August that said Prince Andrew met Epstein in 1999 and saw him "infrequently and probably no more than only once or twice a year," including after his 2010 release from prison. The Duke of York called it "a mistake and an error" to see Epstein after his first conviction of soliciting minors for prostitution.
Florida Southern District Court
Prince Andrew and Virginia Roberts Giuffre, along with Ghislaine Maxwell. This photo was included in an affidavit in which Giuffre alleged Prince Andrew directed her to have sex with him.
Robach's account matches reporting from NPR in August, which said Giuffre was flown to New York, stayed in the Ritz-Carlton, and was interviewed on camera for over an hour, but never got an explanation for why the story didn't air.
"I viewed the ABC interview as a potential game-changer," she told NPR. "Its wide viewership would have been the first time for me to speak out against the government for basically looking the other way and to describe the anger and betrayal victims felt."
Tabloids such as The Daily Mail covered Giuffre's accusations against Epstein in 2015, but few major
NPR also reported that former Epstein attorney turned accused perpetrator Alan Dershowitz, who also faced accusations from Giuffre, called the network at the time that Robach was reporting the story.
He told NPR that he "did not want to see [Giuffre's] credibility enhanced by ABC."
ABC and Robach said in statements that the 2015 report didn't meet their editorial standards to put it on the air
In statements to The Hollywood Reporter's Jeremy Barr on Tuesday, Robach and ABC denied that the story was only killed because of outside influence, saying that parts of the report didn't meet its editorial standards.
"At the time, not all of our reporting met our standards to air, but we have never stopped investigating the story," ABC News said in its statement. "Ever since we've had a team on this investigation and substantial resources dedicated to it. That work has led to a two-hour documentary and six-part podcast that will air in the new year."
Robach said the video captured her "in a private moment of frustration."
"I was upset that an important interview I had conducted with Virginia Roberts didn't air because we could not obtain sufficient corroborating evidence to meet ABC's editorial standards about her allegations," she said in her statement.
Robach added: "The interview itself, while I was disappointed it didn't air, didn't meet our standards. In the years since no one ever told me or the team to stop reporting on Jeffrey Epstein, and we have continued to aggressively pursue this important story."
Robach also mentioned Epstein murder conspiracy theories in the video
Reuters
Geoffrey Berman points to a photograph of Jeffrey Epstein in New York
In the later portion of the video, Robach mentioned two hot-button Epstein topics - the possibility of his murder, despite the official determination that he died by suicide, and the Clintons.
"It was unbelievable what we had - Clinton - we had everything," Robach said in the video.
She also said: "So do I think he was killed? 100%, yes I do. He made his whole living blackmailing people."
A popular conspiracy theory online is that the Clinton family had Epstein murdered in jail. Former President Bill Clinton is known to have ridden on Epstein's plane, dubbed the Lolita Express, in 2002, and potentially over a dozen other times, according to Gawker and Fox News reports. Clinton also visited Epstein's New York apartment at least once, according to a Clinton spokesman, and Epstein has visited Clinton's Harlem office at least once, and the White House when Clinton was president, according to The Daily Beast. The conspiracy theory suggests that Clinton was concerned with potential leaks from Epstein on their activities.
In the statement from Robach, she said: "My comments about Prince Andrew and [Giuffre's] allegation that she had seen Bill Clinton on Epstein's private island were in reference to what Virginia Roberts said in that interview in 2015."
In the video, Robach didn't specifically claim that Clinton was on the island, simply saying, "A lot of men who visited that island, a lot of powerful men who came into that apartment."
Despite going against the official coroner's designation of Epstein's death as suicide, the theory that Epstein was killed has remained popular. An August poll found that only one in three Americans believe Epstein died by suicide."
If you or someone you know is struggling with depression or has had thoughts of harming themselves or taking their own life, get help. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255) provides 24/7, free, confidential support for people in distress, as well as best practices for professionals and resources to aid in prevention and crisis situations.