The mainstream media has been blowing up the last couple of days regarding alleged sex tapes that existed of several people, including former President Bill Clinton.
There is one thing, however, that most of these outlets are burying in their stories.
Talking Points…
- The tapes
- The retraction
- Analysis
The story about the sex tapes originated in 2016 via emails between New York Post columnist Maureen Callahan and Sarah Ransome. Ransome claimed that Epstein had made tapes of some of his high-profile friends, which allegedly included Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, and Richard Branson.
Ransome did not disclose the name of her source, but she offered up details of how her friend had “sexual relations” with at least one of these men.
All of these email communications were revealed in the latest Epstein document drop, and the internet has been blowing up ever since. But, as we noted above, the one thing that is either missing from stories or buried deep in the report is the retraction of Ransome's claims.
As the year played out, Ransome decided to retract her story. In October 2016, she wrote an email to Callahan, walking everything back. She wrote:
“I would like to retract everything I have said to you and walk away from this.”
Ransome explained that “only bad things” will happen to her by moving forward and it would inflict “pain for my family,” so she wanted to walk away. In a 2019 interview with the New Yorker, Ransome also admitted that she had “invented the tapes to draw attention to Epstein’s behavior.”
Donald Trump’s campaign responded to the stories, stating:
“These baseless accusations have been fully retracted because they are simply false and have no merit.”
The Virgin Group also responded on behalf of Richard Branson, stating:
“In a New Yorker report published in 2019, Ransome admitted that she had ‘invented’ the tapes. We can confirm that Sarah Ransome’s claims are baseless and unfounded.”
The damage here has already been done, as social media is now blowing up with allegations against all the men whose names were revealed in the alleged scandal, including Donald Trump and Bill Clinton. Because the mainstream media buried the retraction deep in the report, most people never even read that aspect of the report.
As noted above, Trump’s campaign has already responded, and when Clinton’s representative was asked about the release, his spokesperson stated that “nothing has changed” since Clinton gave his initial comments that he knew nothing of Epstein’s exploits with underage girls.
