Hey, you're listening to Unlimited Hangout. I'm your host Whitney Webb.

Today we will once again be delving into the dark world of sexual black male cover-ups and state sanctioned child abuse.

The most recent episode where we covered such topics was on episode 18 when we had a list bit Voss on the program to discuss the finders cult and this episode will cover similar themes and topics so consider yourself warned.

Today we will be covering a scandal that like the finders was also the subject of a massive government cover-up.

This dark episode in American history, which I briefly covered in part two of my series on the Jeffrey Epstein case from It Press News in 2019, is best known as the Franklin scandal.

The scandal revolved around a child abuse network that spanned the nation and appeared to service depraved individuals within the American political and power elite.

For those unfamiliar with the Franklin scandal, it has that name for the Franklin Community Federal Credit Union, which essentially served as the front for something much, much darker.

The credit union was led by a man named Larry King of no relation whatsoever to the famous late broadcaster.

King was accused not only of massively defrauding the financial institution he ran, but also of being one of the main pimps for a nationwide masochistic pedophile ring and apparently much more.

Joining me to discuss the Franklin scandal is the man who wrote the authoritative book on the matter, investigative journalist and author Nick Bryant.

In addition to writing the Franklin scandal, Nick has co-written the confessions of a DC Madam, the politics of sex lies and blackmail.

He was also the person to first publish Jeffrey Epstein's now infamous black book on gocker several years ago and continues to write on that case as well.

So thanks, Nick, for coming on the podcast. It's great to have you.

I'm glad to be here, Whitney.

Wonderful. Well, I think some listeners might be curious about how you first got involved in this story and covering these topics.

I know that you explain it in your book on the Franklin scandal, but for those that haven't had a chance to read it.

How did you first get involved in investigating sexual blackmail and child abuse and what led you to investigate the Franklin scandal specifically?

Well, I've always been sensitive to children's issues and prior to getting into child trafficking, I'd written a number of things about lower socioeconomic children in the United States of America.

And actually, I wrote a book about that too.

So I've always been sensitive to children's issues. And in 2002, I was talking to the editor of a major magazine.

And he said he was looking for very dark stories. And in I threw a bunch of darks, I said, well, I mean, I kind of put my arms up in there.

I mean, what do you want? Nazis, Satanists, I mean, how dark do you want to go?

...