I’m a journalist. The idea that one is “picking a side” merely by allowing a person at the center of a controversy to speak for themselves is absurd, especially when they can’t speak for themselves directly. It’s obviously relevant to the public debate. That one is “disgraced” doesn’t mean they don’t get to be heard in their own defense; the opposite is true.

My views about the Epstein matter can be judged by the extensive amount I’ve said and written about it, not by falsely suggesting that I’m sneakily “siding with” someone whose views I air.