The fallout from the latest Epstein Files release reached CBS News on Saturday, when newly hired contributor Peter Attia was exposed as a frequent correspondent of Jeffrey Epstein — appearing more than 1,700 times in the newly unsealed records.
Attia, 52, a celebrity longevity doctor turned wellness influencer, was recruited earlier this week by CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss as part of a revamped election-year lineup under President Trump. Now network insiders say the hire has sparked a “full-on crisis” inside the newsroom.
“People are stunned,” one CBS staffer told the outlet. “Nobody wants to be anywhere near this.”
The emails, many of them casual and even playful, paint a picture of a relationship that went far beyond professional courtesies.
In June 2015, seven years after Epstein first faced charges for procuring a minor for prostitution, Attia emailed Epstein complaining that the worst part of being friends with him was that “the life you lead is so outrageous, and yet I can’t tell a soul.”
Former federal prosecutor Mark Lindon, asked about the message, said, “This isn’t someone unaware of Epstein’s past. This is someone choosing to overlook it.”
By 2016, Attia’s tone grew even more disturbing. In one email, he joked crudely about women, writing, “P—y is, indeed, low carb. Still awaiting results on gluten content, though.” Legal analysts say the remark is likely to haunt him for years.
“Making light of Epstein’s behavior — especially then — shows a staggering lack of judgment,” Lindon added.
After the Miami Herald’s 2018 investigation exposed dozens of Epstein’s victims and reignited national outrage, Attia wrote again to Epstein, asking whether there had been any legal “fallout” for him.
“It reads like a man checking in on a friend under fire,” said investigative journalist Dana Smalls. “That’s not how most people reacted to the Herald report.”
Attia has not publicly addressed why he continued corresponding with Epstein as pressure built around the disgraced financier in the months before his 2019 arrest and subsequent death in federal custody.
CBS News declined to comment on Attia’s inclusion in the trove of documents. The network also refused to answer whether they were aware of Attia’s long email trail before his hiring.
Attia rose to fame through his podcast, bestselling book Outlive, and his pricey concierge medical program, Early Medical — a $2,500 service promising longer, healthier living. While wildly popular online, critics have long accused him of selling “high-priced wellness fantasy.”
In a 2024 profile, one medical ethicist said Attia’s brand “straddles the line between science and showmanship.”
By 2026, his hiring by a major network is seen as a calculated move to capture younger, health-obsessed viewers.
“It’s the definition of a risky hire,” said a veteran CBS producer. “And now it’s blowing up.”
Attia is not the only figure tied to Weiss’ CBS overhaul now linked to Epstein.
Weiss’ wife, journalist Nellie Bowles, also appears in the 2026 document dump. Her 2018 email exchange with Epstein included a message in which he asked, “When ste you and your babe back in NYC?” — a presumed reference to Weiss herself.
Bowles has insisted she only met Epstein in her early New York Times years as part of an attempted story pitch. “I wanted to write about him,” she said publicly. “That’s it.”
Other recent Weiss-era hires include historian Niall Ferguson, author Elliot Ackerman, and influencer Andrew Huberman — each drawing their own share of controversy. Huberman has faced criticism for pushing supplements tied to his business partners. Ferguson previously resigned from a Stanford initiative after leaked emails showed him seeking opposition research on a student activist.
“It feels like CBS has been assembling a roster designed to spark headlines,” media analyst Jon Reyes said. “Well, they certainly have one now — just not the kind they wanted during a Trump re-election year.”
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