CBS News, under the leadership of editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, just received another metaphorical black eye.
It came with the latest release of files by the Department of Justice from their 2019 investigation and indictment of human trafficker and registered sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. On Friday, the DOJ released 3 million new pages of documents.
In addition to Epstein's longtime friend, MAGA Republican President Donald Trump, being named throughout the files, emails between newly-hired CBS News contributor Dr. Peter Attia and Epstein were revealed.
Weiss reportedly handpicked Attia for the CBS News team.
So-called longevity doctor Peter Attia is the author of the 2023 best-selling book Outlive: The Science & Art of Longevity.
He's also the author of some pretty damning emails.
In 2015, Epstein emailed Attia a redacted image with the subject line:
“Got a fresh shipment.”
Attia responded:
"The biggest problem with becoming friends with you? The life you lead is so outrageous, and yet I can’t tell a soul.”
In 2016 after referencing "LSJ," Attia wrote:
“I need to visit some time."
LSJ seems to be a reference to Little Saint James, Epstein’s private island.
In a February 2016 email, Attia wrote:
"P*ssy is, indeed, low carb. Still awaiting results on gluten content, though."
Epstein had been a registered sex offender for almost eight years at that point, having been convicted of soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution in 2008, when Attia sent that message.
The FBI first began investigating Epstein in 2006. Trump's first term Secretary of Labor, Alex Acosta, was the federal prosecutor who brokered the unprecedented "sweetheart deal" that allowed Epstein to plead guilty to state-level charges in 2008, resulting in a 13-month jail sentence and immunity from federal charges for him and his co-conspirators.
Epstein was required to register as a sex offender for life.
In another 2016 message, Attia told Epstein's assistant Lesley Groff:
"I go into JE [Jeffrey Epstein] withdrawal when I don’t see him…"
According to the DOJ, Attia is mentioned 1,700+ times in the newly released Epstein files. The pair were in regular contact between 2014 and 2018 according to Attia and the DOJ.
In response to his close ties to Epstein being revealed, Attia posted a 1,073 word explanation on X. It can be read in full without going to X by clicking here—the page will take a moment to load.
You can see the beginning of his post on X here:
Attia blamed his naiveté and being dazzled by Epstein for his choice to cozy up to the registered sex offender.
Attia claimed he asked Epstein about his 2008 child sex trafficking conviction, but that Epstein "downplayed" what happened, so he didn't have any way of finding out the truth until he read about it in the Miami Herald in 2018.
In his X post, Attia claimed:
"Shortly after we met, I asked him directly about his 2008 conviction. He characterized it as prostitution-related charges."
"In 2018, I came to learn this was grossly minimized (more on this below). I was incredibly naïve to believe him. I mistook his social acceptance in the eyes of the credible people I saw him with for acceptability, and that was a serious error in my judgment. To be clear, I never witnessed illegal behavior and never saw anyone who appeared underage in his presence."
"In November 2018 I read the 'Miami Herald' investigative article. I was repulsed by what I learned. Nauseated. It marked a clear and irreversible line between what I knew before and what I understood afterward."
But Attia's emails told a different story.
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But people were uninterested in Attia's excuses.
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Several people asked about a 2017 incident where Attia stayed in New York and met with Epstein after his infant son suffered a cardiac arrest in San Diego, California.
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It's unclear when Attia broke off contact with Epstein, if ever.
Trump's DOJ indicted and arrested Epstein in July of 2019.
He died in their custody that August.
So far, Attia still has his job with CBS News, but his 60 Minutes segment from October has since been pulled by the network.
Not a good sign.
