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Guardian investigation ties FCC chair Brendan Carr to alleged AA 'cult'

A decade-long Guardian probe finds Carr belonged for years to a rogue Alcoholics Anonymous group whose leader allegedly sexually exploited young members.

newest coverage 16h agosummary written 3d ago15 pieces136 likes & upvotes4 comments NewswiresMastodonRedditBlueskyX

What to know

  • Guardian investigation, drawing on 14 former members plus recordings and photos, finds FCC chair Brendan Carr belonged to the Midtown AA offshoot for about nine years from age 17.
  • Former members allege the group's leader Michael Quinones controlled members' lives and that teenage girls and young women were sexually exploited and coerced into relationships with older men.
  • The Guardian found no evidence Carr engaged in inappropriate conduct, and the FCC says he neither participated in nor knew of any abusive or illegal behavior.

“Any suggestion that he knew of the allegedly illegal or abusive conduct you point to would be false.”

FCC spokesperson for Brendan Carr, FCC spokesperson · The Guardian ↗ · Sep 21

Brendan Carr Chair, Federal Communications CommissionMichael Quinones Former leader of the Midtown AA group (died 2007)Tammy S. Former Midtown member

Guardian investigation ties FCC chair Brendan Carr to alleged AA 'cult'
theguardian.com

How it unfolded 1 development · click the chart to see its coverage articlesposts

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Sep 23yesterdaynow · 12:00 PM ET
  1. 1

    FCC spokesperson denies Carr had any role in alleged abuse

    Responding to the Guardian's questions, a spokesperson for Carr said he did not engage in the alleged illegal or abusive conduct and would not have known of it; former members separately described Carr as never among the alleged predators and as himself a 'victim' of the group.

    “He did not engage in any of the allegedly illegal conduct or abusive behavior you reference.”
    — FCC spokesperson for Brendan Carr

    • 🚨BREAKING: New reporting from the Guardian reveals Trump’s FCC Chair Brendan Carr joined a Washington, D.C.-area Alcoholics Anonymous offshoot called Midtown in 1996, when he was about 17. He stayed connected to the group for roughly nine years, including through law school.

      @ReichWingWatchX1d ago47▲view on X ↗
    2 more of the top 3 · 7 posts in this stretch
    • digyoursoul@universeodon.com

      MAGA MURDERER and NAZILEON pal Brendan Carr was a member of a rogue Alcoholics Anonymous group: a cult led by Michael Quinones – who died of cancer in 2007 – came to control nearly every aspect of their lives, including where they lived, worked and went to school. Former members who spoke to the Guardian also allege that *teenage girls and young…

      digyoursoul@universeodon.comMastodon2d ago2▲view on Mastodon ↗
    • ChrisAintMarchin@mastodon.social

      A Guardian investigation found # FCC Chair Brendan # Carr allegedly belonged for 9 years to a # Washington DC group that former members described as a # sexual -exploitation "cult". Teenage girls & young women in the group were coerced into "dating" & having sex with male members.

      ChrisAintMarchin@mastodon.socialMastodon16h agoview on Mastodon ↗
    all of them →
  2. background

    Guardian reports Carr spent years in alleged AA 'cult' — The Guardian publishes an investigation, based on interviews with 14 former members plus recordings and photographs, finding that Brendan Carr joined the Midtown AA group in 1996 at about age 17 and remained a member for roughly nine years, including through law school. Former members describe leader Michael Quinones as controlling nearly every aspect of members' lives and allege teenage girls and young women were sexually exploited and coerced into 'dating' older men in the group.

Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet

  1. 2 outlets Brendan Carr was a member of a rogue Alcoholics Anonymous group some labeled a ‘cult’

    first by The Guardian, 3d ago · also Guardian US

and 2 smaller pieces

What people are saying 4 voices from 1 site · best of 7 · verbatim