A week after being named as a CBS News contributor, Dr. Peter Attia is under fire after the latest trove of documents from Jeffrey Epstein’s file includes more than 1,700 references and evidence of a friendship with the wealthy sex offender, a convicted sex offender who died in prison in 2019.
The letters revealed that Attia maintained a relationship with Epstein long after the financier faced sex trafficking and prostitution charges. A passage from Attia to Epstein’s former assistant Leslie Groff reads, “If I can’t see him, I will enter JE withdrawal.” The remarks, found in a January 2016 email, sparked negative reactions on social media.
CBS News was not immediately available for comment on Attia’s status as an on-air contributor. He is known for his focus on human longevity and anti-aging technology research.
On January 27, CBS News named Attia one of 19 new contributors to the news network, which is being overhauled by new editor-in-chief Bari Weiss. In a CBS News announcement, Attia is the founder of “Outlive, a new app that translates the science of longevity into personalized daily care, and Early Medical, a medical practice that applies Medicine 3.0 principles to patients that simultaneously aim to extend lifespan and healthspan. He is also the host of the popular podcast, The Peter Attia Drive, and the best-selling author of Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity.”
Attia was the center of a “60 Minutes” article last October, in which correspondent Norah O’Donnell spoke to her about ideas for maintaining quality of life as you age. Attia focused on exercise, protein intake and early diagnosis.
Some of the other contributors named by Weiss are known for their health and wellness research, but they also champion ideas that are not accepted by mainstream science. One of them is Mark Hyman, a physician who has been active in food and agriculture policy reform and supported some of the controversial policies introduced by U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert Kennedy. Among the ideas he supports is the so-called “pegan diet,” which limits nutritious foods like beans and whole grains. Andrew Huberman is a popular science podcaster whose promotion of nutritional supplements has drawn some flak.
