No, Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin are not listed in Epstein documents | Fact check

Gabrielle Settles, USA TODAY
·3 min read
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The claim: Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin are named in the Epstein documents

A Jan. 4 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows a photo of comedian Kathy Griffin alongside another of CNN anchor Anderson Cooper.

“Kathy Griffin & Anderson Cooper, named in the EPSTEIN DOCS (if you don’t know the story – HOLD ON!)” reads the post's caption.

The post was shared more than 1,000 times in a week.

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Fact check roundup: What's true and false about Jeffrey Epstein and the individuals on his list

Our rating: False

Neither Griffin nor Cooper are listed in any of the documents related to the late financier and accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

Conspiracy theories continue to add names to Epstein list

The Facebook post refers to several batches of court documents related to Epstein released in January. Among the hundreds of pages of documents are the names of associates, friends, opponents and acquaintances of Epstein, including those of magician David Copperfield and Prince Andrew of Great Britain.

But conspiracy theorists have baselessly added the names of other celebrities to the list. Such is the case for Cooper and Griffin, who are not mentioned in any of the documents that have been released since Jan. 3.

Fact check: That's not Jeffrey Epstein pictured with Taylor Swift. It's a music executive

Cooper and Griffin's names also don't appear in the flight logs of Epstein’s private plane, which were made public in 2019.

Griffin said in 2023 that she never went to Epstein's island, where criminal complaints state that sex trafficking of underage girls and young women took place.

“I have been besieged with thousands of QAnons who are telling millions of people that I was on Epstein island,” Griffin wrote in a March 9, 2023, Instagram post. "What a heinous thing to accuse someone of. There’s this bogus list that’s been going around online for a few years and it’s got my name on it as well as Jimmy Kimmel, Jim Carrey, Oprah, Tom Hanks and every celebrity who is basically a well-known Democrat."

She was referencing the QAnon conspiracy theory that falsely claims celebrities and politicians are engaged in a satanic sex trafficking ring.

While Cooper is not named in any of the Epstein documents, he has reported on the subject. In August 2021, Cooper interviewed billionaire and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, an associate of Epstein’s for some time, about his connection to the late financier.

USA TODAY reached out to the Facebook user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Anderson Cooper, Kathy Griffin not in Epstein documents | Fact check