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I understand the argument that Hillary Clinton has suffered enough for her husbands sins. (Of course, shes hardly suffered enough for her own.) But shes a beneficiary of the power and money Bill Clinton enjoys in the wake of his presidency. Shes his wife and a window into his personal life. So why are any serious news outlets interviewing her without asking about Jeffrey Epstein? If the press wants to treat allegations against Epstein seriously, why should Clinton get a pass when shes trying to sell books?

The former secretary of state is on a book tour, hawking her new novel, making stops at The View and The Atlantic to sell copies and complain about conservatives. Yet, in the years since her failed presidential bid, the public learned a great deal about Bill Clintons deeply suspicious ties to Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex criminal with a network of powerful allies. She should hardly be on the hook for all of Bills personal failings but these allegations are credible and enormous.

In May 2020, Netflix dropped Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich, a docuseries bizarrely executive produced in part by James Patterson, Epsteins former neighbor and Bill Clintons repeated co-author. (Their latest book dropped this summer.) That documentary features two witnesses who say, despite the Clintons denials, that Bill visited Little Saint James, Epsteins private island that was literally nicknamed Orgy Island. Steve Scully worked on the island for six years, from 1999 to 2005. I saw Bill Clinton sitting with Jeffrey on the living room porch, he says in the show.

Virginia Giuffre, one of Epsteins most vocal accusers, also told documentarians, I remember having a dinner with Clinton. He was there, and I never saw him do anything improper. I wish, you know, he would just come clean about [it].

Giuffre made that claim in court documents as well, telling investigators in 2011 that Epstein said Clinton was on the island because he owe[d] me a favor.

There is also a serious discrepancy between the number of flights Clinton admits to taking on Epsteins plane and the number in reports from flight logs. Fox News reported that Clinton took at least 26 flights on the jet. Flight logs from Gawker show at least a dozen. Clinton admits to only four.

Did the former first lady ask her husband why he was photographed getting a neck rub from Epsteins 22-year-old massage therapist on a post-presidential humanitarian trip to Africa? That massage therapist, whos since accused Epstein of rape, says she saw Clinton partake in no foul play on the trip, during which he traveled on Epsteins plane. Fine. But what does his wife think of the pictures, which were released in 2020? Did she ask him about that? Does she think they suggest Bill had way too casual of a relationship with a convicted abuser?

The media largely treats Giuffres many allegations against Epstein credibly. Outlets have reported on the flight logs. Why, then, should Hillary Clinton be allowed to continue enriching her family and advancing her message without answering difficult questions about her own husbands ties to Epstein? Does the news value of her insipid political commentary really outweigh the value of asking these questions?

Of course, any outlet that asks Clinton about Epstein will be punished by her team. Thats how this works. Thats almost certainly why ABC News quashed Amy Robachs story on Epstein back in 2019, despite the networks denials. Yet Clintons ties to Epstein have made enough headlines, and are plenty serious, that his wife has presumably brought it up and presumably knows something more than the public. Shell, of course, deny wrongdoing. But she should actually have to do that.

ABC News let The View give Clinton a nine-minute tongue bath earlier this month. The networks executives and journalists are normalizing something very abnormal.

Every journalist should make these questions a condition of sitting down with Hillary and Bill Clinton. If the pair wants access to the media, they should have to earn it by answering important questions the media exists to ask.

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Why Is The Media Letting Hillary Clinton Sell Her Book ...