MAGA podcaster Megyn Kelly — and mother of a 14-year-old daughter — is getting slammed over saying that Jeffrey Epstein, the late financier and convicted child sex offender, was possibly "not a pedophile."
Kelly tried to make the argument that Epstein "liked 15-year-old girls" and "the very young teen types" during her podcast this week, suggesting she does not know the age of consent or what pedophilia means, The Daily Beast reports.
“I do know somebody very, very close to this case who is in a position to know virtually everything,” Kelly said. “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.”
In Florida, where Epstein was convicted, the sexual consent age is 18.
“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. 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,” Kelly said.
Epstein was found guilty of abusing dozens of victims in both Florida and New York, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. He recruited the girls and enticed them to visit his mansion in New York City and his estate in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Kelly then said she did not believe Attorney General Pam Bondi, but when Bondi announced the DOJ had video and images of the sexual abuse, she reconsidered.
“For the first time, I thought, oh, no, he was an actual pedophile,” Kelly said. “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.”
She continued to double down on what she called a "difference."
”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?” Kelly said.
Democratic strategist Ally Sammarco believes that Kelly's claims could have a serious impact on her future.
“This is career-ending for Megyn Kelly,” Sammarco told The Beast. “Fifteen-year-olds are CHILDREN. They can’t drive. They can’t see rated R movies. But disgusting 50-year-old men should be allowed to rape them? Goodbye. Forever.”