- NBC, ABC and CBS News have all appeared to run cover for some of the world’s most powerful rape rings.
- The allegations range from killing entire stories on alleged rape offenders, shutting down reports of sexual assault to protect themselves, and firing an employee who might have tried to hold the network accountable.
- All of these accusations have come in 2019, and all of the outlets have denied the various reports or declined to comment.
NBC, ABC and CBS News have all now appeared to run cover for some of the world’s most powerful rape rings, allegedly killing stories and firing employees who tried to expose the outlets.
As three of America’s biggest networks, these outlets have each become embroiled in controversy in 2019 following multiple separate reports that they have played a part in covering up some of the world’s most powerful rape and pedophile rings.
The allegations range from killing entire stories outing disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, shutting down an interview detailing accusations against alleged child sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and firing an employee who might have tried to hold an outlet responsible.
NBC News
First, investigative reporter Ronan Farrow came out with a book on Oct. 15 titled “Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators.” The book accused NBC News of covering up Farrow’s story about the sexual assault allegations surrounding now-disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. It is based on Farrow’s article published in The New Yorker in 2017. He was allowed to publish his story in The New Yorker while still working at NBC News, the outlet said in a previous statement.
“Catch and Kill” makes serious allegations against NBC News, detailing how Weinstein allegedly pressured the outlet into dropping a story because he knew of former NBC host Matt Lauer’s alleged sexual misconduct.
NBC News denied killing the story to protect itself, but Farrow noted that “there is proof and a paper trail” detailed in the book. The news dropped shortly before the book’s Oct. 15 release, causing a fallout that included NBC News agreeing to release former employees who had made sexual assault accusations against people at the network.
“Any former NBC News employee who believes that they cannot disclose their experience with sexual harassment as a result of a confidentiality or non-disparagement provision in their separation agreement should contact NBCUniversal and we will release them from that perceived obligation,” an NBCUniversal spokesperson said, according to Rachel Maddow on Oct. 25.
The outlet also received pushback for refusing to allow an outside investigation into NBC News following the allegations. Journalist Megyn Kelly went after NBC News on Oct. 16, saying the network should “show us the money” and come clean about any and all agreements made to former staffers. She added that there “needs to be an outside investigation into” the network, mentioning that several other outlets with allegations of scandals have done the same in the past.
Weinstein has an upcoming rape trial in January. If convicted, he faces life in prison.
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ABC News
Just a few months later, ABC News was accused of killing a story about the late alleged child sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein after Project Veritas released a video of anchor Amy Robach complaining about the network. Robach was caught on camera saying ABC killed her interview with Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre, according to the video.
“I’ve had this story for three years,” Robach said in the unearthed video. “I tried for three years to get it on to no avail, and now it’s all coming out and it’s like these new revelations. And I freaking had all of it. I’m so pissed right now.”
The anchor said Buckingham Palace threatened ABC News after finding out Prince Andrew was a part of the story and added that she “had all of” the reporting years ago. ABC News denied this, saying in a statement that it has “never stopped investigating the story.” They added that it has employed a team to uncover the truth about Epstein, whom authorities arrested on accusations of child sex-trafficking in July.
The network said it plans to release extensive reports on Epstein in the new year. Robach also walked back her on-camera remarks, releasing a statement echoing the network’s comments. She attributed to her previous accusations as being “a private moment of frustration.”
Robach added that ABC didn’t run the interview “because we could not obtain sufficient corroborating evidence to meet ABC’s editorial standard about her allegations.” This statement came after she said she “had all of it” and knew of the allegations against Epstein for “three years.”
Epstein died of an apparent suicide while in a Manhattan jail cell Aug. 10, although many have questioned whether his death was really a suicide.
The outlet is now investigating who leaked the video, it said in a statement to journalist Yashar Ali on Wednesday.
“We take violations of company policy very seriously, and we’re pursuing all avenues to determine the source of the leak,” a spokesperson for ABC News said, according to Ali.
CBS News
CBS News is the latest to appear to have run cover for a huge rape ring when it allegedly fired a former ABC employee Wednesday who had access to Robach’s tape. The outlet declined to comment to Page Six, it reported Thursday.
The employee who reportedly accessed the tape moved on to a job at CBS News, anonymous sources told Ali. CBS fired that employee, a woman, Wednesday after ABC executives notified CBS of the situation, a TV source said, Page Six reported.
5. Update: Two sources familiar with the matter tell me that CBS News has fired the staffer in question. This comes after ABC informed CBS that they had determined who accessed the footage of Amy Robach expressing her frustrations about the Epstein story. https://t.co/OHEoyahppY
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) November 7, 2019
None of the outlets replied to a request for comment.
