Valeria Chomsky, wife of linguist Noam Chomsky, issued a statement Saturday apologizing for their "careless" failure to vet Jeffrey Epstein's background, admitting he deceived them despite post-2018 warnings.
Documents from the Justice Department revealed the 97-year-old philosopher's friendly post-2008 communications with Epstein, including 2019 advice to ignore media "hysteria" on abuse allegations: "What the vultures dearly want is a public response, which then provides a public opening for an onslaught of venomous attacks, many from just publicity seekers or cranks of all sorts. That’s particularly true now with the hysteria that has developed about abuse of women, which has reached the point that even questioning a charge is a crime worse than murder."
Chomsky met Epstein in 2015, unaware of his plea to soliciting a minor. They dined at his homes in New York, Paris, and New Mexico, attended academic events, but never visited his island. Epstein posed as a science philanthropist, sending gifts and aiding Chomsky financially, including a $20,000 linguistics prize check and recovering $270,000 in retirement funds, likely to build influence.
Valeria acknowledged reading the Miami Herald's 2018 exposé but only grasped Epstein's full crimes after his 2019 arrest. "We were careless... a grave mistake," she wrote, noting Chomsky's pre-stroke regret. She framed his advice as based on Epstein's "manipulative narrative" of media persecution, aligning with Chomsky's anti-"cancelling culture" views—not opposition to women's rights.
Other releases showed Chomsky calling Epstein contact "valuable," sharing a phallic joke, and "fantasizing" about his island (unsent). Valeria stressed Epstein orchestrated ties to rehab his image, calling it a "Trojan horse."