Second ex-CNN staffer under investigation for alleged crimes involving minors: report
NEW YORK POST | By Yaron Steinbuch | December 30, 2021
A former CNN producer is reportedly under investigation for “serious allegations involving potential juvenile victims” — the second network staffer to be investigated for crimes involving minors.
Police in Fairfax County, Virginia, have launched a criminal probe into Rick Saleeby, a former senior producer on Jake Tapper’s “The Lead,” authorities confirmed to Fox News.
The investigation involves “serious allegations involving potential juvenile victims,” and “detectives assigned to the Child Exploitation Squad of the Major Crimes Bureau are leading this investigation,” the Fairfax County Police Department told the outlet.
The probe appears to be tied to a report by Project Veritas, a conservative guerrilla journalism outlet, that alleges Saleeby solicited nude photos of a 15-year-old girl, with cops telling Fox News they had been in communication with Project Veritas.
Saleeby resigned from his role on “The Lead” after the report detailing the disturbing allegations, according to the Washington Examiner.
A CNN rep also confirmed to Fox News that “the person in question” resigned earlier this month.
Meanwhile, Saleeby’s home in Fairfax County has been raided and electronic equipment has been seized, the Examiner reported.
Saleeby’s case comes on the heels of another CNN producer who is embroiled in a criminal investigation.
Earlier this month, John Griffin, 44, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Vermont for attempting to “induce minors to engage in unlawful sexual activity,” according to the Justice Department.
He allegedly attempted to lure at least four girls — ages 16, 14, 13 and 9 — to his Vermont ski house for “training sessions” on such things as “spanking” and “c–k worship,” reportedly saying a “woman is a woman regardless of her age,” according to court documents.
Griffin allegedly “advised” a mother of 9- and 13-year-old daughters that she needed to ensure her girls were “trained properly,” the Justice Department said. He then allegedly gave the mother $3,000 so she and the 9-year-old could fly from their home in Nevada to Boston in July 2020.
He pleaded not guilty and faces a sentence of 10 years to life behind bars if convicted.
The former “New Day” producer bragged on LinkedIn about working “shoulder-to-shoulder with lead anchor Chris Cuomo, seeing him through each show and producing live breaking news across the country and around the world.”
A CNN spokesperson has told The Post that the network fired Griffin after his arrest.
The network suspended Cuomo in the wake of revelations he secretly aided the defense of his embattled older brother, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo — then fired him after being informed about unspecified allegations of sexual misconduct dating to when Chris Cuomo worked for ABC News.
