Media

CBS fires employee tied to leak of ABC hot mic video on Epstein: report

by Joe Concha - 11/07/19 3:34 PM ET

CBS News has reportedly fired an employee said to be involved in the leak of a video showing ABC “Good Morning America” anchor Amy Robach criticizing her network for not running a story on Jeffrey Epstein three years ago.

ABC News executives believe they know who accessed the Robach video and that the former employee was now at CBS, according to a report Thursday by journalist Yashar Ali, who noted that it was unclear whether the employee was responsible for leaking the video.

“Two sources familiar with the matter tell me that CBS News has fired the staffer in question,” Ali tweeted with an accompanying story. “This comes after ABC informed CBS that they had determined who accessed the footage of Amy Robach expressing her frustrations about the Epstein story.”

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

CBS and ABC declined to comment.

A video released Tuesday by the conservative group Project Veritas showed Robach criticizing ABC for not running her reporting on Epstein.

“I’ve had the story for three years. I’ve had this interview with Virginia Roberts. We would not put it on the air,” Robach said in the video posted by Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe.

{mosads}Roberts has said she was one of Epstein’s victims. She also says she was sexually trafficked by Epstein to Prince Andrew, the brother of Prince Charles — who is next in line to the British throne.

The video, leaked to O’Keefe by someone he described as “an ABC insider,” has not been independently verified by The Hill.

It’s not clear when the video was taken but it appears to be in the aftermath of new reporting about Epstein in July that led to his arrest on charges of sex trafficking and conspiracy to traffic minors in sex.

Epstein was found dead in his New York jail cell in August while awaiting trial. A New York medical examiner declared his death a suicide.

ABC News in a statement attributed to a spokesman said it had continued to work on the story.

“At the time, not all of our reporting met our standards to air, but we have never stopped investigating the story. Ever since, we’ve had a team on this investigation and substantial resources dedicated to it,” an ABC News spokesman said in a statement released Tuesday. “That work has led to a two-hour documentary and 6-part podcast that will air in the new year.”

Tags ABC News Bill Clinton CBS News