ABC News may have thought they had their culprit when they fired producer Ashley Bianco, the woman who had her fingerprints all over the clip that showed Amy Robach openly talking about the buried report about Jeffrey Epstein back in August.
As it turns out, they got the wrong person. While Bianco may have created the clip back in August, she did so because it was part of her job. As she told Megyn Kelly in a recent interview, tagging moments like that and creating clips out of them was a regular practice and she loved her job too much to do anything malicious against ABC News.
(WATCH: Here’s Megyn Kelly’s Interview With Fired ABC News Producer Connected To Leaked Hot Mic Moment)
The truth is, the leaker is still at large, but while he is in hiding, he’s still communicating with the world.
Through Project Veritas, the leaker donned the pseudonym of “Ignotus” — Latin for “obscure” or “unknown” — and released an open letter addressed to different people or groups.
He starts by addressing his fellow man, stating that he bore “no motives other than to have this information public.” He wrote he wants no personal gain for the information and had the same reaction of anger and shock upon seeing this clip.
“I care not about petty political quarrels and only hope for the best in all of us,” he wrote.
This was followed by comments toward his fellow ABC News employees, saying that he enjoys working with each and every one of them and that they do an outstanding job.
He then addressed those wrongfully accused in the leak, presumably Bianco, and making it clear that neither of them has done anything wrong:
It is terrible that you have been lashed out at by the company. I know some may put the burden of guilt on me, but my conscience is clear. The actions of the company towards you are the result of their own and not anyone else. The public outcry, from coast to coast, of all people, creeds, and political affiliations, is clear. I have not one doubt that there will always be support for you, and you will have prosperous careers. For neither you, nor I, have done anything wrong.
He moves on to Robach, whom he said is the only person who actually deserves an apology. He noted that when he first “stumbled across this,” he was outraged, but then soon became empathetic.
“I can not imagine doing all the hard work to only have it shelved. If the past few years have taught us anything, it is the truth that some of us have endured many hardships in this industry,” wrote Ignotus. “From the spiking of stories regarding prominent and powerful people in this world, and to yours. I believe you are an outstanding reporter and have done such tremendous work in the community as well.”
It’s then that he turns to ABC News itself. Ignotus chides them for their attempts at hunting down the people or person responsible for the leak instead of actually handling this “head-on like the company has in the past.” Instead of beating them down further, he actually appeals to the ABC’s better angels:
I sit right here with you all in complete shock. I, like many, are at a loss for words on how this has been handled. Instead of addressing this head-on like the company has in the past, it has spun into a mission of seek-and-destroy. Innocent people that have absolutely nothing to do with this are being hunted down as if we are all a sport. I challenge all of you to actually look inwards and remember why this company engages in journalism. We all hold the First Amendment at the foundation of this company, yet forget its history, its purpose, and its reasoning for even coming into existence to begin with. How lost we are… yearning to be found. I went to Project Veritas for the sole reason that any other media outlet else would have probably shelved this as well. I thank all of them, and James, for seeking truth.
We are all human and mortal, creatures of mistakes and redemption.
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