In January 2026, online users shared a set of audio recordings alleging child sex trafficking, physical assault and child pornography, as well as the murder of children, in the 1970s and 1980s by future American leaders.
The claims involved a boy
The unsubstantiated allegations claimed some of the men sexually assaulted the boy (for the purpose of this article, we'll refer to that person as "Barros"), that the boy once injured Trump and that Trump himself actually led the efforts behind Epstein's sex crimes with Epstein simply presented as the public face of the operation.
Snopes listened to all four-plus hours of the audio interviews in which Barros detailed the alleged crimes at the hands of American politicians. In the months and years before those recordings published, Barros,
If the allegations had merit, there would be at least some evidence of the purported crimes other than Barros' testimony, such as witness testimonies, court records, police reports or newspaper articles. We have yet to locate any such records.
The allegations gained widespread internet attention in early 2026 when a woman named Lisa Voldeng posted the audio recordings on her Substack titled "Outlaws of Chivalry." Voldeng emailed the following statement in response to our request for more information to independently verify the claims:
The truth speaks for itself. I stand with survivors. Justice will not wait.
I published my Outlaws of Chivalry briefing with unredacted audio of my interviews with Sascha, so individuals longing for justice, could read and listen unfettered, and discern the truth so long concealed, themselves.
We attempted to reach Barros via Facebook Messenger, as well as via Voldeng's email address, to ask questions and request evidence corresponding to the allegations against Trump and other prominent people. After the initial publication of this article, Voldeng emailed us some information she cited as sourced from Barros. In her email, she attached a copy of a record documenting Barros' military service but did not send any further documentary evidence regarding the allegations.
On Jan. 12, 2026, Barros shared on Threads that they had spoken with Detective Donald Pauley of the Lawton Police Department in Oklahoma, as well as an Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation special agent. We called and emailed Pauley, but did not receive responses to our inquiries within several weeks. OSBI spokesperson Hunter McKee told Snopes that OSBI investigative records are "exempt from disclosure under the Oklahoma Open Records Act," adding, "if any such documentation exists within the custody of the OSBI."
This report does not not attempt to fact-check whether Barros experienced sexual assault and/or trafficking during their life, but instead attempts to discern the credibility of Barros' stories involving prominent people, such as Trump and Epstein, specifically.
We also emailed the White House to respond to the allegations against Trump, as well as the Supreme Court since the claims included Thomas. We reached out to the offices of Biggs, Jordan and Graham for the same reason. We will update this article if we receive responses.
A sample of claims
Some social media users noted that a person named William or Bill Riley appears in several (Page 28) documents (Page 19) released by federal authorities related to Epstein's crimes. That is accurate, though we did note users mistakenly confused (archived) mentions of a private investigator named William Henry Riley, whose photos appear on pages 37 and 43 of a PDF document, with that of William Kyle Riley, who does not appear to be mentioned in the case documents. We did not uncover any evidence to confirm Barros' allegations against William Kyle Riley.
In the audio clips, Barros identified themself as an Army veteran. Voldeng emailed Snopes a copy of Barros' DD Form 214 — issued upon a service member's discharge or retirement — which was under the name William Sascha Riley, following the initial publication of this article.
Among the many allegations, Barros
By email, Balis confirmed to Snopes that a soldier was found in possession of child pornography around that time. He also confirmed there was a conversation about a sexually explicit video of a boy resembling Barros. According to Balis, the commanding officer asked some of the questions Barros mentioned.
The writer behind the Substack blog
As of this writing, Voldeng nor Barros provided definitive evidence regarding the allegations against prominent men, such as Trump, Epstein and Thomas.
Barros said in the first recording, "I know that me speaking up is one thing, but the verification process is important, too." In the fifth recording, Voldeng said she was looking to establish a "starting point in terms of an investigation."
In the recordings, Voldeng and Barros discussed tracking down old police reports and archives from a closed or renamed Charter Woods Hospital in Dothan, Alabama, as well as contacting former Army service members to corroborate the claims.
By phone, Voldeng, who said she resides in Canada, told Snopes she was working on a follow-up to her original article featuring the Barros' recordings, and that that second post would map "selected incidents to supporting evidence."
"There's been a lot of vetting,
She said Barros attempted and failed to obtain a 1989 record from Charter Woods Hospital purportedly containing Barros' documented words about the allegations against Trump. "Apparently, when the hospital was closed, there [were] records somewhere. There likely could be a box of records sitting somewhere in a basement, but we've experienced difficulties obtaining those. That would require some sort of boots-on-ground research in those towns." Voldeng said.
"I'm not a journalist. I've never worked as a journalist," said Voldeng, who lists work history on LinkedIn. "
Voldeng told us she asked
We emailed the offices of Wyden and Rep. Robert Garcia of California — the ranking Democrat on the House oversight committee — to confirm the correspondence and ask if anything came of it. After we published this article, Ryan Carey, a Wyden staffer working as chief communications adviser and deputy policy director at the Senate Committee on Finance, confirmed via email his office had been in communication with Voldeng but said he could not provide additional details.
In short, Snopes reviewed Barros' allegations against Epstein, Trump and other prominent Republican figures and did not uncover any evidence to confirm the claims.