ABC News is facing fresh scrutiny over its handling of the Jeffrey Epstein saga as pressure mounts ahead of the expected release of long-sealed Epstein files.

The looming disclosures have already become a political flashpoint for President Donald Trump, who reversed course this week and backed the Justice Department’s move to release the documents before a House vote demanding they be made public. But ABC’s own conduct, past and present, is now back in the spotlight.

During a tense exchange, ABC correspondent Mary Bruce pressed Trump on why he hadn’t ordered the release himself. “Why wait for Congress to release the Epstein files? Why not just do it now?” Bruce asked. Trump bristled. “It’s not the question that I mind. It’s your attitude,” he snapped. “I think you are a terrible reporter. It’s the way you ask these questions.”

He went further, suggesting FCC Chairman Brendan Carr should consider yanking ABC’s broadcast license. “I think the license should be taken away from ABC because your news is so fake. And it’s so wrong,” Trump said.

The White House followed the confrontation with a statement labeling ABC “fake news” and listing years of complaints about the network’s coverage of Trump.

That criticism quickly reopened a wound inside ABC dating back to 2019. In a leaked hot-mic video published by Project Veritas, then-anchor Amy Robach accused the network of shelving her Epstein reporting years earlier. “I’ve had the story for three years… we would not put it on the air,” Robach said, insisting she had confirmed allegations involving Epstein, his victims and “Clinton.” She vented that she had “tried for three years to get it on to no avail,” adding, “I’m so pissed right now.”

Robach told colleagues she had even secured an interview with 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 added she believed concerns about losing access to the royals helped kill the piece. “Like every day, I get more and more pissed ’cause I’m just like, ‘Oh my God… what we had was unreal.’”

After the footage leaked, Robach confirmed it was real but said she had been venting. “I was caught in a private moment of frustration,” she said in a 2019 statement. ABC likewise downplayed the moment, saying her reporting “didn’t meet our standards to air,” while insisting the network had continued investigating the case. “Not all of our reporting met our standards to air, but we have never stopped investigating the story,” a spokesperson said.

ABC was, in fact, first to report in late 2023 that Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew were expected to be named in unsealed Epstein documents, while noting there was “no indication” those records contained evidence of illegal conduct by Clinton.

But the resurfaced Robach tape — and Trump’s blow-up with Bruce — reignited accusations that ABC buried a bombshell. Conservative commentator Benny Johnson blasted 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,” he wrote. “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.”

Download the FREE Trending Politics App to get the latest news FIRST >>

, 2025-11-20 16:48:00, , Trending Politics Conservative Breaking News and Commentary, %%https://trendingpoliticsnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/cropped-tp-fav-2-32×32.png, https://trendingpoliticsnews.com/feed/, jake