Shelby Talcott on November 18, 2019
- Journalist Megyn Kelly spoke to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy in an interview Monday night about the letter he sent to ABC News.
- McCarthy sent a letter to the network Sunday demanding answers on why they killed a 2015 story about dead alleged child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
- Kelly and McCarthy spoke about if the network had an obligation to notify authorities of the information and if they were complicit in his alleged actions by killing the story.
Journalist Megyn Kelly spoke to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy Monday about the letter he sent to ABC News demanding answers as to why they killed a 2015 story about alleged child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
ABC News has come under fire after Project Veritas released a video of anchor Amy Robach on Nov. 5 accusing the network of killing her interview with Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre. Robach 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.
“What business is it of yours as the House Minority leader to push ABC News to explain its editorial business?” Kelly asked during an exclusive interview with McCarthy Monday. She obtained an exclusive copy of the letter McCarthy sent to ABC News Sunday evening.
“Now, when I see a person who works at ABC … to say she [Robach] had a story three years ago of a known pedophile whose already pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution,” McCarthy replied. “And somehow there’s been undue influence? I don’t know that there is, but it’s worth asking the question.”
Kelly noted that the network isn’t under any obligation to give answers to McCarthy, as they can cite freedom of the press and various other laws that protect them. McCarthy acknowledged this, but said that the outlet appeared to go to great lengths to fire the woman they believed could have had access to the leaked tape.
“But why did they work so hard on another network to fire someone they thought leaked it?” McCarthy replied. “I wish they would work this hard to look at themselves from a moral perspective.”
ABC News allegedly contacted CBS after the leaked video, believing that a person who had access to the video was working at the outlet. CBS then fired former ABC producer Ashley Bianco, 25, who was with CBS News for four days, after ABC executives allegedly informed CBS of the situation.
Bianco denied having any involvement in leaking the video during an exclusive interview with Kelly Nov. 8. The network has remained silent since Bianco’s firing.
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McCarthy asked ABC News various questions in his letter Sunday, such as if the network was ever given more evidence about Epstein between the 2015 interview and then he was arrested in 2019. McCarthy demanded the names of those involved in the decision to kill the story as well as their reasons. The letter was also signed by GOP Reps. Mike T. McCaul of Texas and Doug A. Collins of Georgia.
The letter also accused the network of potentially causing fewer victims to come forward and allowing more people to become victims of human trafficking.
Kelly added during Monday’s interview that networks don’t have an obligation to report stories out, noting that they actually have an obligation not to report things out if they aren’t sure of the details. ABC News said in a previous statement that they didn’t air the interview because they couldn’t corroborate parts of Giuffre’s story.
“She [Robach] had a victim that had pictures,” McCarthy said. “She spent a lot of time at it, and then someone told her not to – but she also talks about outside influence, that maybe they might not get an interview somewhere else if they ran this story.”
“Remember who we’re talking about. Epstein was very powerful … He may go down in history as one of the biggest pedophiles around the world.”
