ABC News' Amy Robach Says Network Killed Her Epstein Reporting On Hot Mic
ABC News’ Amy Robach is speaking out after footage surfaced showing her on a hot mic stating that the network killed her reporting on convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
In the clip, posted online by right-wing group Project Veritas, the “20/20” host can be heard discussing her interview with Virginia Giuffre, née Roberts, who claims to have been one of the billionaire’s sex trafficking victims.
Robach said the interview, which was conducted in 2015, never saw the light of day.
“We would not put it on the air,” she said. “First of all, I was told, ‘Who’s Jeffrey Epstein? No one knows who that is. This is a stupid story.’ Then the palace found out that we had her whole allegations about Prince Andrew and threatened us a million different ways. We were so afraid we wouldn’t be able to interview Kate and Will that we, that also quashed the story.”
Prince Andrew was one of several people accused of taking part in Epstein’s scheme, including other high-powered individuals such as former celebrity lawyer Alan Dershowitz, who has vehemently denied the allegations. Former President Bill Clinton associated with Epstein, though he said earlier this year that he knew nothing about the financier’s “terrible crimes.”
“She told me everything,” Robach said of her discussion with Giuffre. “She had pictures. She had everything.”
BREAKING: @abcnews anchor @arobach caught on 'hot mic' in August disgustedly exposing networks decision to strategically spike bombshell investigation into Jefferey Esptein over THREE YEARS AGO.
Says what she had was "unbelievable" #EpsteinCoverup: https://t.co/HagfLpwKDn pic.twitter.com/fPvJc3JCCQ— James O'Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) November 5, 2019
In a statement sent to HuffPost, Robach called her remarks “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.
“My comments about Prince Andrew and her 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. I was referencing her allegations ― not what ABC News had verified through our reporting.”
Robach additionally noted that “no one ever told me or the team to stop reporting on Jeffrey Epstein, and we have continued to aggressively pursue this important story.”
In a separate statement from ABC News, the network reiterated that the reporting did not meet its standards, but that it “never stopped investigating the story” with “substantial resources.”
The outlet says a two-hour documentary and a six-part podcast on Epstein are set to air next year.
Epstein died in an apparent suicide while awaiting a sex trafficking trial in New York’s Metropolitan Correctional Center in August.
Related Coverage
Epstein Accuser On Prince Andrew: 'He Was An Abuser. He Was A Participant.'
Jeffrey Epstein Likened Underage Sex Charges To 'Stealing A Bagel': Report
Pathologist Claims Jeffrey Epstein Autopsy 'Points To Homicide'
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
