--:-- I need to talk to you about something serious. Last week, I received a demand letter from lawyers representing Canna Cook Ministries, a Christian summer camp in Missouri. They're threatening to sue me for defamation because of something I said on my podcast with Congressman Ro Khanna. Here's what I said. I brought Elizabeth Phillips on my show, and she talked about how Canna Cook employees have been molesting thousands of kids for years and putting them under NDAs after settlements so they can never come out and talk about their sexual abuse and trauma. Canna Cook's lawyers are demanding I take down that portion of the interview, issue a public apology, and stop talking about this. They gave me 10 days. That deadline has passed. Here's my response. No, I don't negotiate with pedophiles or the people who defend them. I'm not taking anything down. I'm not apologizing, and I'm damn sure not going to stop talking about child sexual abuse in a Christian camp that continues to operate on the same grounds where horrific abuse took place. Let me be crystal clear about the facts. Facts that CannaCook's own lawyers admitted in their letter One Pete Newman a senior Canacook employee and camp director sexually abused children at Canacook for multiple years in the early 2000s He now serving life sentences Two, between 20 and 30 civil lawsuits were filed against Canacook. Three, multiple confidential settlement agreements were executed with victims, NDAs that prevented these kids from speaking publicly about what happened to them. Canacook can't prove the number is less than thousands. And given their own admission of a cover-up, the true number is unknowable. But here's what really pisses me the fuck off. Canacook is still operating a camp at the very location where countless children suffered horrific abuse. They're still running programs. They're still bringing kids to the exact same place. And now they want to silence me for talking about it. This isn't about protecting their reputation. This is about protecting children, and I will not be silenced. My attorney has sent Canna Cook's lawyers a response. We've made it clear. If they want to sue me, bring it on. We welcome discovery. We welcome depositions of Canna Cook leadership about what they knew, when they knew it, and what they did or didn't do to protect children. We welcome full disclosure of every abuse allegation, every settlement, every internal investigation, and every financial record showing whether Kanakook actually suffered any harm from my statement or whether this is just an attempt to intimidate people into silence Under Tennessee law Canna Cook will have to prove I lying They have to prove actual malice that I knew my statements were false, or that I had serious doubts about its truth. They can't do that, because I relied on Elizabeth Phillips, whose brother was a victim. I relied on public court records, relied on widespread media coverage of Pete Newman's prosecution, and most importantly, they admit the core of what I said is true. Canacook employees sexually abused children. Victims were silenced by confidentiality agreements. That's not defamation. That's the truth. I want to say something directly to survivors. I see you, I believe you, and I will not stop fighting for you. Sexual abuse at youth camps, especially Christian camps, that are supposed to be safe places, is a matter of urgent public concern. Parents have a right to know, kids have a right to be protected, and survivors have a right to speak. Canacook's attempt to use legal threats to silence reporting on child sexual abuse in itself is newsworthy, and I'm going to keep reporting on it. To Canacook you want to talk about callous and malicious disregard for the truth Let talk about operating a camp where a predator had access to thousands of children for years Let talk about confidentiality agreements that silenced traumatized kids Let's talk about continuing to operate on a crime scene. You're not the victim here. The children you failed to protect are the victims. I stand by every word I said. I will not retract. I will not apologize. and if you want to sue me, my lawyers are ready. To everyone watching, this is why I do this show. This is why we tell real stories about real people because the truth matters, because kids matter and because some things are more important than money or reputation. If you want to support survivors of institutional child sexual abuse, check out No More Victims. the organization Elizabeth Phillips founded. They're passing laws to protect kids and hold institutions like CannaCook accountable. And if you're a survivor, please know, it's not your fault. You deserve justice, and there are people fighting for you. I'll keep you updated as this develops, but I'm not going to be backing down. Hey Jeremy, what's the name of that law firm? Hush Blackwell. Hush Blackwell. I wonder how many pedophiles they've defended. That would be an interesting piece of information to know.
