Tag: noam chomsky

On the Emails Between Jeffrey Epstein and Noam Chomsky

I am heartsick.

As a young boy, I experienced horrific sexual violence, which I have written about before and which continues to mark me even decades later. It means that I cannot tolerate anyone who exploits young children in a way that is not merely moral but physical: I am utterly repulsed by anyone who harms children and shudder when I hear anyone who even disciplines a child. Two of my children are adults, and two are still children and with each of them I have felt and feel deeply about their fragilities and their futures. For me, there are no second chances for a person who violates a child.

I read about the Jeffrey Epstein case because it hurts me greatly to read about the dangerous violence inflicted on children and young people.

But of course, it was impossible to ignore the emails between my friend and collaborator Noam Chomsky and Epstein. I have read what I can, and I have seen what I need to see. Noam has been a great mentor for me, and we have made two books together (the last one, his final book). Both books were written around the time that he was in correspondence with Epstein. But nothing in our many discussions brought up any of the themes in that correspondence or of the fact that he was meeting Epstein. Noam and I talked about US imperialism and its crimes, and then about Cuba. The only personal other thing we talked about other than these political matters was our love of dogs and the Arabic language.

Since Noam cannot speak or write and explain his relationship with Epstein, the matter is fraught. There is nothing to say on his behalf. When the photos and emails appeared, I was immediately disgusted by Epstein’s paedophilia, and so by Noam’s friendship with him. There is no defence for this, in my view, no context that can explain this outrage.

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Chomsky had deeper ties with Epstein than previously known, documents reveal

The prominent linguist and philosopher Noam Chomsky called it a “most valuable experience” to have maintained “regular contact” with Jeffrey Epstein, who by then had long been convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor, according to emails released earlier in November by US lawmakers.

Such comments from Chomsky, or attributed to him, suggest his association with Epstein – who officials concluded killed himself in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges – went deeper than the occasional political and academic discussions the former had previously claimed to have with the latter.

Chomsky, 96, had also reportedly acknowledged receiving about $270,000 from an account linked to Epstein while sorting the disbursement of common funds relating to the first of his two marriages, though the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor has insisted not “one penny” came directly from the infamous financier.

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Jeffrey Epstein moved more than $250,000 between accounts for Noam Chomsky, who said the money was for a ‘pure technicality’

Renowned academic and political activist Noam Chomsky sought sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s help with managing financial transactions totaling over a quarter million dollars, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

In late April, the Journal revealed that Chomsky and Epstein met multiple times, even after Epstein pled guilty in 2008 to soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution.

New reporting from the outlet highlighted that beyond a group dinner with Woody Allen, Epstein helped Chomsky move large sums of money, which the academic said was for a “technicality” related to distributing funds from a previous marriage.

Chomsky confirmed to the outlet that in March 2018, he received $270,000 from a bank account associated with Epstein, but said it was only to reorganize his own funds, and “did not involve one penny from Epstein.”

The academic said that after his previous wife died 15 years ago, he needed financial guidance for a “pure technicality.”

“Epstein gave me advice on how to transfer funds from one account of mine to another,” Chomsky told Insider in an emailed statement. “The simplest way was to pass it through his office.”

He also denied that he ever took money from Epstein. “Pure technicality,” Chomsky added. “No payments took place.”

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Liberal Academic Icon Under Fire After Revelations He Hung Out With Epstein

Yet another high-profile liberal icon spent time with Jeffrey Epstein.

Noam Chomsky, the famed linguistics intellectual and political activist, spent time with Epstein on multiple occasions, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday, prompting outrage from critics.

Chomsky, 94, reportedly met with Epstein several times in 2015 and 2016, while he was a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The meetings reportedly happened long after Epstein had registered as a sex offender.

“First response is that it is none of your business,” Chomsky told the Journal in an email after being asked about his relationship with Epstein. “Or anyone’s. Second is that I knew him and we met occasionally.”

Epstein was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell in August, 2019 before the well-connected and wealthy financier could go on trial for his alleged decades of grooming and sexual abuse, including rape, of young girls in the 1990s and early 2000s.

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