The Social Democrats and its TD Gary Gannon have tonight apologised for a false social media claim linking former Justice Minister Alan Shatter to Jeffrey Epstein. Mr Gannon has also agreed to pay damages to the former Fine Gael TD.
An apology issued by the Social Democrats on social media reads: “I and the Social Democrats party unreservedly apologise to Mr Alan Shatter for all damage and hurt caused and ask that no further reliance be placed on my post and that there be an end to any repetition of the hurtful and abuse narratives it instigated.
“The depiction was mistaken and untrue. Despite my subsequently deleting the post it continued to circulate as a screenshot on social media and both my original post and its screen shot resulted in Mr Alan Shatter being wrongly targeted, vilified and subjected to antisemitic abuse.”
Alan Shatter said tonight: “I am glad that this matter is resolved by the issuing of this statement by Gary Gannon TD & the Social Democrats.”
Mr Shatter told Gript that he had been targeted with a “tsunami of falsity.”
He said: “I hope those who targeted me on social media over the last two weeks with a tsunami of falsity, vilification, anti-semitic abuse, called for the Gardaí to investigate me, that I be expelled from Ireland and who encouraged me to commit suicide will now have the decency to also publicly apologise and delete their despicable posts.”
In an Instagram post after the release of the latest batch of the “Epstein Files” earlier this month, which was deleted, Gannon asked his followers why the government was not investigating the meeting with Alan Shatter in 2011 that was referenced in the Epstein files.
“A document released as part of the Epstein files records a 2011 meeting involving then Fine Gael Minister for Justice Alan Shatter and the secretary general of the department of justice,” wrote Gannon.
“The release of this document”, he continued, “has led to understandable public commentary and concern”.
The document in question – which can be viewed here – was a record of the diary appointments of then United States Attorney General Eric Holder, and did not actually form part of the so-called “Epstein files”.
The meeting which took place was between Holder – then the most senior justice official in the United States – and Shatter, then the most senior justice official in Ireland, with Jeffrey Epstein having had nothing whatsoever to do with the event.
In the statement, Gary Gannon continued: “I and the Social Democrats party unreservedly apologise to Mr Alan Shatter for all the damage and hurt caused and ask that no further reliance be placed on my post and that there be an end to any repetition of the hurtful and abusive narratives it instigated.
“I acknowledge that Alan Shatter never met or arranged to meet Mr Epstein nor had any relationship or contact with him. The document I wrongly and mistakenly referenced derived from an online record of the travel diary of former US Attorney General, Eric Holder.
“The meeting recorded was an official government engagement in Dublin, between then Minister Alan Shatter and Attorney General Holder on the 21st September 2011 and has no connection of any nature to Mr Epstein.
“I appreciate Alan Shatter agreeing to resolve this matter by the issuing of this statement and the payment of an agreed sum by way of damages.”