New Epstein files cast spotlight on Chomsky’s long, cozy association with sex trafficker

By Maryam Qarehgozlou 

The most recent trove of files reveals that Jeffrey Epstein had a close friendship with Noam Chomsky, with the 96-year-old linguist and public intellectual praising his interactions with the financier and convicted sex offender as “a most valuable experience.”

According to emails released earlier in November by US lawmakers, Chomsky maintained “regular contact” with the now-deceased sex trafficker, who at that point had long been convicted of soliciting prostitution from minors.

Epstein embodied the moral and financial corruption at the core of the American political class. 

Rising from an unqualified teaching post to immense wealth and unchecked influence, he cultivated relationships with powerful figures such as former US President Bill Clinton, President Donald Trump, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor (formerly Prince Andrew), and former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak — relationships he maintained even as he preyed on underage girls. 

In 2008, US authorities shielded him from accountability when federal prosecutor Alexander Acosta abruptly shut down an active FBI investigation and granted Epstein a clandestine plea deal so lenient it made a mockery of justice. 

When Epstein was finally rearrested in 2019, he died in federal custody under a “suicide” narrative that large segments of the public still reject.

Newly released emails now show Trump had long known of Epstein’s crimes despite public denials, while thousands of additional files implicate a wide cast of US politicians and insiders.

Included in these documents is evidence that Epstein maintained deep, longstanding ties with prominent scientists and scholars — most notably Chomsky — arranging meetings, dinners, and intellectual exchanges that he used to launder legitimacy and expand his influence.

Financial links and personal familiarity

The emails make it clear that Chomsky’s association with Epstein was far more extensive than the occasional political and academic discussions he previously acknowledged.

Two years ago, Chomsky admitted to receiving roughly $270,000 from an account linked to Epstein while resolving shared marital funds, though he insisted not “one penny” came directly from the infamous financier. 

Yet the latest emails indicate a closeness that went beyond professional correspondence, revealing discussions about music and even potential vacations. 

Among these documents is an undated letter with the salutation “to whom it may concern” to the — first reported by the Massachusetts news outlet WBUR — with a typed signature identifying Chomsky as a University of Arizona laureate professor, a position he took up in 2017.

The letter of praise

In the letter, Chomsky wrote that he met Epstein around six years earlier and described being in “regular contact since, with many long and often in-depth discussions about a very wide range of topics, including our own specialties and professional work, but a host of others where we have shared interests. It has been a most valuable experience for me.”

The letter, which may or may not have been sent to anyone, lauds Epstein for explaining “the intricacies of the global financial system” in ways “the business press and professional journals” could not.

It also emphasized Epstein’s access to global power brokers. 

“Once, when we were discussing the Oslo agreements, Jeffrey picked up the phone and called the Norwegian diplomat who supervised them, leading to a lively interchange,” it read. 

Epstein had also arranged for Chomsky to meet former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak, someone the scholar had “studied carefully and written about.” 

The letter further noted that Epstein had attempted, “with limited success,” to help Chomsky’s wife, Valeria, introduce him “to the world of jazz and its wonders.”

“The impact of Jeffrey’s limitless curiosity, extensive knowledge, penetrating insights and thoughtful appraisals is only heightened by his easy informality, without a trace of pretentiousness. He quickly became a highly valued friend and regular source of intellectual exchange and stimulation,” it read. 

Another revealing exchange dates to 2015, in which Epstein offered Chomsky access to his homes in New York and New Mexico: “... you are of course welcome to use apt in New York with your new leisure time, or visit New Mexico again.” 

The emails do not clarify whether Chomsky accepted. 

What is known is that Epstein owned Zorro Ranch outside Santa Fe — one of the central sites of his serial abuse of minors — a sprawling compound with the largest private mansion in the state, a runway, and an airplane hangar. 

New Mexico lawmakers are now seeking $2.5 million to form a “truth commission” to investigate the crimes that occurred there, according to ABC News.

A wider engagement  

Within the released emails, Chomsky’s wife Valeria — who serves as his spokesperson — also appears in close contact with Epstein. 

In a January 22, 2017, email, she apologized to him for missing his birthday: “Hope you had a good celebration!” she wrote. 

“Noam and I hope to see you again soon and have a toast for your birthday.” 

MIT declined to comment directly on Chomsky but claimed that in 2020 it reviewed its relationship with Epstein, tightened its gift-acceptance policies, and donated funds to organizations supporting survivors of sexual abuse. 

Chomsky himself has remained silent, having reportedly been convalescing in Brazil after a stroke in 2024.

Public interest in Epstein files has intensified since Trump, once Epstein’s friend, vowed during his 2024 campaign to release a full list of his clients. 

After returning to the office, however, his Justice Department declared that no such list existed and refused to release additional files, prompting bipartisan outrage he dismissed as a Democratic “hoax.” 

Under mounting pressure, Trump recently signed legislation compelling the Justice Department to disclose more of the so-called Epstein files.

A pattern across elite academic circles

The scandal has swept up other high-profile Massachusetts academics. Harvard also said it would open a review of ties between Epstein and members of its community.

Harvard’s former president, Larry Summers, announced he was stepping back from public roles after documents exposed the depth of his relationship with Epstein. 

Summers sought Epstein’s advice regarding a “female acquaintance” and enlisted him to raise $110,000 for a poetry project by his wife, Elisa New, with financial entanglements that echo earlier revelations reported by The Wall Street Journal in 2023.

The Wall Street Journal reported on a 2014 exchange in which Summers asked Epstein to help secure $1 million in funding for one of his wife’s projects.

Astronomer Lawrence Krauss, author of the best-selling 1995 book The Physics of Star Trek, exchanged more than fifty emails with Epstein, who had supported Arizona State University’s Origins Project when it was led by Krauss. 

In a 2018 message, Krauss sought Epstein’s advice on handling sexual-misconduct allegations he faced at ASU; Epstein replied, “Break the charges into ludicrous. ogling. jokes. . etc.” 

Krauss was later removed from Scientific American’s board of advisers for sexual misconduct.

While Epstein’s scientific donations likely totaled only tens of millions of dollars, his ability to steer research reflected a deeper dysfunction in the US scientific establishment. 

He told Science magazine in 2017 that he preferred funding “rebel” scientists and derided major institutions as “politically correct.” 

As historian Naomi Oreskes wrote in Scientific American in 2020, “The Epstein affair brings to light a much larger problem.

It undermines the integrity of the research enterprise when individuals can pick and choose lines of inquiry that appeal to them simply because they can pay for them.”

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