Who is Noam Chomsky? What do his emails to Jeffrey Epstein reveal?

A newly released set of US government files disclosed an email exchange between American thinker Noam Chomsky and Jeffrey Epstein that occurred months before the latter's arrest on child sex trafficking charges, suggesting a closer relationship between the financier and the prominent left-wing academic than was previously understood.

The disclosure of hundreds of pages of records, released following a congressional demand for greater transparency, includes emails and memos that appear to reflect a direct, transactional relationship.

As reported by AFP, the emails show that Chomsky privately expressed sympathy for Jeffrey Epstein over what he called the “horrible way” the media treated the late sex offender, advising him in a 2019 email to keep a low profile and steer clear of media “vultures”.

The exchange, disclosed in a newly released set of US government documents, occurred months before Epstein’s arrest on child sex trafficking charges and suggests a closer relationship between the financier and the prominent left-wing academic than was previously understood.

For example, after emails revealed plans for a 2016 meeting with the Chomskys, Epstein wrote to Chomsky, “Enjoyed … (as) always. Come to New York or Caribbean? Enjoy the food.”

“We did too, very much,” Chomsky said in a reply, adding, “Valeria’s always keen on New York. I’m really fantasizing about the Caribbean island.”

The Guardian reported that at another point that same year, Epstein – a Brooklyn native – discussed being “free anytime” to meet up with Chomsky in New York City because “everyone in the city besides us will be gone. Separate from Woody. Maybe we can do it again.”

Chomsky replied that it would be “great” to grab dinner with Epstein and the “Allens”.

The emails did not clarify whether they were referring to film director Woody Allen and his wife, Soon-Yi Previn. However, there is reason to believe it was Allen, who has been largely ostracized in the industry following allegations by his daughter Dylan Farrow that he sexually assaulted her in 1992—a claim he has repeatedly denied, The Guardian reported.

Later in 2016, Epstein was informed by email that genetic testing kits from 23 and Me would “be delivered to Woody and Soon Yi.” In the spring of 2017, emails showed that Shuliak arranged to send the Chomskys a pair of the same tests, again courtesy of Epstein, The Guardian noted.

In an August 2015 email exchange, Epstein advised Chomsky, the renowned linguist and social scientist, to fly to Greece only if he felt well, joking that he had previously had to send a plane for another “lefty friend” to see a doctor in New York, AP reported.

The exchange, which also touched on academic discussions about warning signs of currency collapses, behavioural science models, and Big Data, included Epstein offering his residences for Chomsky’s use.

“you are of course welcome to use apt in new york with your new leisure time, or visit new Mexico again,” Epstein wrote, as reported by AP.

“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,” added Chomsky, who is now 97.

“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.”

The exchange occurred in February 2019. Epstein was arrested later that year in July and was found dead in his New York jail cell in August. Earlier-released Epstein records had already indicated that Chomsky remained in contact with him well after Epstein’s 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor.

Other newly released emails point to the depth of Chomsky's social ties with Epstein, and to a planned meet-up with Steve Bannon, a former advisor to US President Donald Trump credited as the architect of his rise to power.

Epstein was charged with sex trafficking in 2019 and died by suicide in jail a month later. His crimes, influential connections, and death behind bars have since fuelled widespread conspiracy theories and drawn intense scrutiny from online investigators searching for evidence of a cover-up.

(With inputs from agencies)