Overview
- CBS staff were notified Monday that Attia would step down immediately, and his spokesperson said the newly created role had not meaningfully begun and he did not want to be a distraction.
- Justice Department records released in late January reference Attia more than 1,700 times and include crude exchanges, for which he apologized as “embarrassing, tasteless, and indefensible.”
- Attia has denied any criminal involvement, saying he never flew on Epstein’s plane, visited his island, or attended sex parties, and that his interactions centered on research and introductions.
- CBS previously pulled a planned rerun of a 60 Minutes segment featuring Attia, as internal debate over retaining him unfolded under Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss.
- Attia has faced wider professional fallout, stepping down from the protein-bar company David Protein and being removed from other advisory roles after the disclosures.