Noam Chomsky, the famed academic and activist, held multiple meetings with Jeffrey Epstein, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Chomsky's meetings with Epstein took place long after the disgraced financier had registered as a sex offender, the Journal reported. When the Journal asked Chomsky about the meetings, the linguist had some choice words.
When asked about their connections with Jeffrey Epstein, many business leaders and bureaucrats have offered tight-lipped regrets and apologies.
Not Noam Chomsky.
The Wall Street Journal, in an exclusive published Sunday, said it had obtained Epstein's private calendar, which outlined numerous meetings with high-profile people, including Chomsky, the famed academic and political activist. When the Journal reached out to Chomsky for comment, the linguist had some choice words.
"First response is that it is none of your business. Or anyone's. Second is that I knew him and we met occasionally," Chomsky, 94, told the Journal in an email.
Epstein, the disgraced financier accused of sex trafficking underage girls, died by suicide in 2019 in a Manhattan jail as he awaited trial. Epstein's infamous "black book" of contacts and flight logs from his private jet was first made public in 2015. Epstein's private calendar now sheds more light on some of his contacts.
In addition to Chomsky, the Journal noted meetings Epstein had on his calendar with the current CIA director, William Burns, as well as Kathryn Ruemmler, a top lawyer at Goldman Sachs and former White House counsel under President Barack Obama, among others.
Epstein's meetings with Chomsky appear to have taken place in 2015 and 2016, according to the Journal. Epstein was first charged with procuring minors for prostitution and registered as a sex offender in 2008.
In March 2015, Epstein scheduled meetings with Chomsky and a Harvard University professor, the Journal reported. Chomsky confirmed for the paper that there were several meetings where they discussed various topics.
The Journal reported that months later, according to the calendar, Epstein scheduled a flight with Chomsky and his wife for a planned dinner with movie director Woody Allen and his wife, Soon-Yi Previn, who is also the adopted daughter of his ex-partner, Mia Farrow.
"If there was a flight, which I doubt, it would have been from Boston to New York, 30 minutes," Chomsky told the Journal. "I'm unaware of the principle that requires that I inform you about an evening spent with a great artist."
Chomsky said he discussed politics and academics in his meetings with Epstein. Epstein donated at least $850,000 between 2002 and 2017 to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where Chomsky taught for decades.
"What was known about Jeffrey Epstein was that he had been convicted of a crime and had served his sentence," Chomsky told the Journal about his meetings. "According to U.S. laws and norms, that yields a clean slate."