Sen. Wyden Claims Banks Failed to Screen Epstein Transactions, Questions Why CBS Never Aired Investigation

In a new report, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) alleged several major banks failed to screen hundreds of millions of dollars in suspicious transfers from Jeffrey Epstein and questioned why CBS News (Lean Left bias) never aired an investigation it did on the matter.

Bank Allegations: The Senate Finance Committee report "found significant evidence that JPMorgan Chase, Deutsche Bank, and Bank of America violated federal anti-money laundering laws by failing to screen and report Epstein's suspicious financial transactions in a timely manner." Wyden alleged that "suspicious" transactions totaled over $1.5 billion across the three banks: Deutsche Bank failed to disclose over $250 million in "suspicious transactions" related to Epstein; Bank of America "likely violated" the law by "failing to properly screen and report $170 million in payments" Epstein received from Leon Black; and JPMorgan Chase didn't flag $1.1 billion in "suspicious transactions" until 2019, six years after Epstein's account closed.

Bank Replies: JPMorgan Chase told Newsweek (Center), "It is disappointing that, instead of advancing new facts that would help bring accountability to the men who participated in Epstein's trafficking operation, the report largely recycles allegations that have already been exhaustively examined by courts and the government." Bank of America told Newsweek, "We take our legal and regulatory obligations seriously and, as we have previously said, the bank did not facilitate wrongdoing."

CBS: Wyden said he sat for an interview with 60 Minutes host Sharyn Alfonsi in March to discuss the relationship between the banks and Epstein. In May, Alfonsi was fired by CBS. She blamed an "intense editorial dispute" regarding a story on the CECOT prison in El Salvador. The 60 Minutes season also ended in May, and the feature never aired. A CBS spokesperson confirmed to Bloomberg (Center) that the interview happened but said the segment was not ready to air by the season's end. Bloomberg said CBS wouldn't comment on the program's plans for next season. CBS told several mainstream outlets, "We are proud of our aggressive and extensive reporting on the Epstein scandal. That reporting continues. We air pieces when they are ready and suggesting that an interview is being 'suppressed' for any reason is categorically false."

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How The Media Covered It: The story was widely covered by the left and center, though most major news networks, such as Fox News (Right) or CNN (Lean Left), did not cover the story. Reuters (Center) covered Wyden's report, though it didn't mention anything about CBS and 60 Minutes. The New York Post (Right) was the only outlet from the right AllSides found coverage from. The Post included context on Wyden's claims about CBS later in its coverage of a separate CBS storyline and didn't provide context regarding his report about the banks.

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