Megyn Kelly suggests Epstein wasn't an 'actual pedophile' if victims went through puberty

Conservative host Megyn Kelly suggested that she did not initially believe Jeffrey Epstein was an "actual pedophile" because he reportedly victimized girls aged 15 and older.

Kelly spoke to journalist Batya Ungar-Sargon about Epstein on Wednesday after Democrats released emails suggesting President Donald Trump "knew about the girls" during his friendship with the pedophile. The conversation was first reported by Media Matters.

"I do know somebody very, very close to this case who is in a position to know virtually everything," Kelly explained. "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."

"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," she continued. "I'm just giving you facts that he wasn't into, like, 8-year-olds. But he liked the very young teen types that could pass for even younger than they were, but would look legal to a passerby."

"And that is what I believed and that is what I reliably was told for many years."

Kelly admitted that she began to change her opinion after Attorney General Pam Bondi claimed that Epstein had thousands of videos with child sexual abuse material.

"For the first time, I thought, oh, no, he was an actual pedophile," the conservative host recalled. "I don't know whether it's true. I have to be honest, I don't really trust Pam Bondi's word on the Epstein matters anymore."

Kelly noted that no girls claimed Epstein had victimized them before the age of 14.

"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 5-year-old, you know?" she added. "The whole thing is just disgusting."