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The criticism reopened old wounds for ABC, harking back to 2019. A hot-mic video leaked by Project Veritas revealed then-anchor Amy Robach blasting the network for shelving her Epstein reporting. “I’ve had the story for three years… we would not put it on the air,” Robach said, emphasizing that she had confirmed allegations involving Epstein, his victims, and “Clinton.” She continued, “I’ve tried for three years to get it on to no avail… I’m so pissed right now.”
Robach explained she had even secured an interview with Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who directly implicated Prince Andrew. “I’ve had this interview with Virginia Roberts. We would not put it on the air,” Robach 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.”
She suggested that fear of losing access to the British royal family played a major role in killing the report. “Like every day, I get more and more pissed ’cause I’m just like, ‘Oh my God… what we had was unreal.’”
After the leak, Robach confirmed the footage was genuine but characterized her comments as private venting. “I was caught in a private moment of frustration,” she said in a 2019 statement. ABC also downplayed the incident, claiming her reporting “didn’t meet our standards to air,” while insisting the network had continued investigating Epstein. “Not all of our reporting met our standards to air, but we have never stopped investigating the story,” a spokesperson said.
ABC did, in fact, report in late 2023 that Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew were expected to be named in the unsealed Epstein documents, though the network noted there was “no indication” those records included evidence of illegal conduct by Clinton.
Yet the resurfaced Robach footage, combined with Trump’s recent confrontation with Bruce, has reignited conservative criticism that ABC buried explosive material. Commentator Benny Johnson slammed the network on X: “In 2019, ABC News admitted to deliberately burying a key interview with Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts for three years that would have completely exposed and reshaped the Epstein conversation. If ABC had aired it, the victims would have justice and the American people would have answers. Media accountability isn’t optional. ABC should have lost their broadcasting license years ago.”
