Megyn Kelly drew criticism after she mounted a defense of Jeffrey Epstein by claiming to have been told he was into the ‘barely legal type’ and was apparently not a pedophile.
The conservative commentator faced online backlash for the comments made on Wednesday’s episode of her eponymous podcast.
‘I do know somebody very, very close to this case, who is in a position to know virtually everything,’ Kelly started.
‘Not everything but virtually everything – and this person has told me, from the start, years and years ago, that Jeffrey Epstein, in this person’s view, was not a pedophile.’
She stressed that these comments came from an unnamed source: ‘This is this person’s view, who was there for a lot of this, but that he was into the ‘barely legal’ type.
‘Like, he liked 15-year-old girls.’
Kelly recognized that Epstein’s actions were ‘disgusting’ as she continued.
‘I’m definitely not trying to make an excuse for this – I’m just giving you facts – that he wasn’t into, like, eight-year-olds,’ Kelly said. ‘But he liked the very young teen types that could pass for even younger than they were, but would look legal to a passerby.’
Megyn Kelly angered listeners after claiming an unnamed source told her that dead pedophile Jeffrey Epstein was into the ‘barely legal’ type
Epstein was found hanging in his New York prison cell on August 10, 2019, while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges
Kelly explained that she had been ‘reliably told’ this about Epstein for years, until Attorney General Pam Bondi stated that the FBI was reviewing ‘tens of thousands of videos of Epstein with children or child porn’ earlier this year.
The political podcaster said that was the first time she thought: ‘Oh, no, he was an actual pedophile.’
Kelly added that Bondi had ‘never clarified’ her comments about the videos.
‘I don’t know whether it’s true,’ she said.
‘I have to be honest, I don’t really trust Pam Bondi’s word on the Epstein matters anymore.’
Kelly said she did not know what was true about the dead sex offender, but said ‘we have yet to see anybody come forward and say, ‘I was under 10, I was under 14, when I first came within his purview’.’
Epstein’s victims were allegedly as young as 14 years old, according to the indictment used when he was charged with sex trafficking of minors in July 2019.
Kelly added that Epstein, who died in August 2019 in his jail cell, ‘in this person’s view, was not a pedophile’
Epstein’s victims were allegedly as young as 14 years old, according to federal prosecutors, who said he knew they were underage
Kelly added: ‘Look, you can say that’s a distinction without a difference. I think there is a difference. There’s a difference between a 15-year-old and a five-year-old.
‘You know, it’s just whatever. It’s sick. Every time we start talking about Epstein, it makes your skin crawl, right? The whole thing is just disgusting.’
Kelly’s comments on her show came as the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform released 20,000 pages of documents received from Epstein’s estate.
She was widely ripped on social media for her comments, with users claiming she was defending the deceased pedophile.
‘How is 15 barely legal???’ one X user asked.
Another added: ‘It’s so sad how far people will go to defend the indefensible.’
‘What if your 15 yo daughter was pursued by a greasy dirty old man?’ a YouTube comment read. ‘Not only that but trafficked and permanently traumatized????’
Kelly said she did not ‘really trust Pam Bondi’s word on the Epstein matters anymore’ in the latest episode of her podcast
A second weighed in: ‘A 50 year old targeting 15 year old’s is sick, disgusting and much more.
‘Why are you defending this?’
The Daily Mail has contacted Megyn Kelly’s representatives for comment.
In 2018, Kelly said there was ‘no consenting for a 14-year-old or even a 17-year-old’ as she interviewed an alleged sexual abuse victim from California, where the age of consent is 18.
Federal prosecutors claimed Epstein knew many of his victims were under 18, because some had explicitly told him so.
Epstein was found hanging in his New York prison cell on August 10, 2019, while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide.
