Ashley Bianco is the two-time Emmy award-winning journalist and former ABC producer who was fired from her new job at CBS following the leaking of a controversial video. The controversial clip showed ABC News reporter Amy Robach’s frustration at having a Jeffrey Epstein story spiked by the network. Robach was off-air but was speaking into a live microphone in a conversation with a producer. Bianco was not the person engaging with Robach.
On November 5, the Robach video was posted online by conservative James O’Keefe’s activist organization Project Veritas. The recording was made in August 2019. It came shortly after Jeffrey Epstein took his own life in a Manhattan prison.
Yashar Ali was the first to confirm Bianco’s involvement in the scandal. Ali reiterated that Bianco is not accused of leaking the video to O’Keefe but was fired because “ABC News determined that she accessed the footage of Robach.” ABC execs then contacted Bianco’s employers at CBS regarding her involvement. This resulted in Bianco being fired. O’Keefe has said that Bianco is not the leaker. Bianco is a two-time Emmy award-winning producer.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Bianco Told Her Side of the Story to Megyn Kelly in a November 2019 Interview
On November 8, Bianco told her side of the story in an exclusive interview with Megyn Kelly. Kelly posted the interview to her YouTube and Instagram page. Kelly recorded in the interview on the same day that she launched her Instagram page.
In the interview, Bianco denies that she leaked the video of Robach. Bianco says in the video, “I saved [the video] in the internal system.” Bianco says that she was watching Robach make the comments while she was at her desk. Bianco says she then went to a manager to ask if Robach knew if she was speaking into a hot mike. The reason she kept the clip, Bianco says, was so that she could talk about it later with colleagues and that the intention was never to embarrass Robach.
Bianco then says that she never heard of Project Veritas prior to the leaking of the video and that she never spoke to James O’Keefe before. When she was fired, Bianco says that she was “devastated.” Through tears, Bianco talks about her worries about her future employment. Kelly told her in the interview, “You’ll get a job.” The interview ends with Bianco saying that all she wants now is her career back.
The Daily Mail reports that Bianco contacted Kelly specifically in order to conduct an interview. Kelly has been largely absent from public appearances since leaving NBC.
2. Bianco Was the Vice President of Her Sorority at Emory University
Online records show that Bianco is a graduate of Emory University in Georgia. Bianco attended the school between 2012 and 2016 where she studied Comparative Literature with a focus on Journalistic Studies. Bianco is graduated from high school in Southern California’s Inland Empire.
During her time in college, Bianco was the vice president of the Gamma Phi Beta Sorority. Bianco was also the features editor of the student-run Emory Wheel newspaper.
3. Bianco Formerly Worked for ‘Good Morning America’
Twitter/Ashley Bianco
According to her now-deleted Twitter page, Bianco is a two-time Emmy award-winning journalist and producer for “CBS This Morning.” On her now-deleted LinkedIn page, Bianco says that she was formerly a producer on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” Bianco left ABC for CBS in October 2019. Bianco is listed as a producer on “Good Morning America” in the 2018 and 2019 press releases for Daytime Emmy awards.
When Bianco left ABC, she sent an email to colleagues that was obtained by Page Six. The email read, “I want to thank everybody who has guided my career at ABC. I truly can’t thank everyone enough for what you have done for me, it has been an amazing three years and I’ll miss you all so much. There are not enough words to convey how grateful I am to all of you. Please stay in touch and I wish you all success and happiness to come.”
4. Bianco Was Fired After ABC News Let Their Counterparts at CBS Know About Her Alleged Actions
Page Six had reported on November 7 that a female CBS staffer had been fired as a result of the leak but did not name Bianco as that person. The Page Six report goes on to say that the staffer formerly worked at ABC News and had recorded Robach’s rant. She was fired after executives from ABC News let their counterparts at CBS know about the alleged actions.
Bianco had previously interned at CBS News between 2015 and 2016, as well as spending time with the network’s Atlanta affiliate while she was a student at Emory. In 2016, Bianco spent time working as a freelance producer with NBC News.
5. Robach Has Now Said That the Epstein Story Did Not Meet ABC News’ Editorial Standards
Getty
The hot-mike moment saw Robach complaining about have had a story about disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein in 2016. The story was an interview that Robach had conducted with Epstein’s “sex slave Virginia Roberts Giuffre.” Epstein had been accused of allowing the British royal family’s Prince Andrew to have sex with Giuffre.
Robach said that the ABC bosses refused to go forward with it. In a statement following the leaking of the video, Robach said that ABC News was not satisfied that the story met their editorial standards.
Robach said in the video, which was a conversation between the anchor and a producer, “I’ve had this interview for years. I’ve had this interview with Virginia Roberts. We would not put it on the air.”
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