CIA director, Chomsky and businessmen: Epstein's private papers reveal which prominent figures met with him after his 2008 conviction

CIA Director William Burns, famed professor and activist, Noam Chomsky, and businesswoman and former Obama advisor Kathryn Ruemmler. These are some of the names that appear in Jeffrey Epstein's private diary and emails, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

They all met with the businessman after his time behind bars in 2008. Epstein was sentenced to 13 months in prison for a sex offense against a teenage girl. In addition, he registered as a sex offender. The agreement reached by his legal representatives, however, allowed him to go out to work up to 12 hours a day, six days a week.

During the time of these meetings, Epstein was the center of media and public criticism, so much so that several politicians returned the donations he had given them.

According to the WSJ article, most of the people listed in the thousands of documents claimed that they had visited the businessman because of his connections and wealth. For example, Bard College president Leon Botstein claimed that he was trying to get Epstein to donate to the college. Epstein reportedly came to campus accompanied by a group of young women. As for connections, Epstein was introducing potential clients to Ruemmler, including Bill Gates.

The Director of the CIA

William Burns has been the head of the American spies since 2021. When he met with Epstein in 2014, he was deputy secretary of state. In other words, he was the 'alter ego' of Secretary of State John Kerry, who is now the U.S. Special Presidential Climate Envoy. He also filled in for Kerry when he was absent.

Burns reportedly met Epstein at least three times. On one occasion, the businessman's driver allegedly drove him to the airport. CIA spokeswoman Tammy Kupperman Thorp acknowledged that the agency director knew Epstein. However, she said they only met twice: in Washington, when they were introduced by a friend of Burns, and in New York, for a short time. She also denied the part about the chauffeur.

After the last encounter reported in these records, Burns resigned from public office. This was in October 2014, while the two were reportedly last seen in September of that year. From there, Burns went on to become president of the think tank Carnegie Endowment for International Peace until he returned to public office to work with Joe Biden.

'None of your business, or anyone's'

When the WSJ asked for clarification, linguistics professor Noam Chomsky said, “First response is that it is none of your business. Or anyone’s. Second is that I knew him and we met occasionally.”

Chomsky, according to the documents, met with Epstein multiple times. On at least one occasion, director Woody Allen and his wife, Soon-Yi Previn, also reportedly participated. The professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) also argued that at the time it was only known that Epstein had served his sentence, which was a "clean slate."

In an interview with Science, Epstein praised the MIT professor. Although the conversation took place in 2017, when Epstein had already served his sentence, the text was published a month after he was found hanging in his cell.

Epstein, according to the article, "expressed great respect" for the linguist's views. He added, too, that he especially enjoyed how Chomsky "takes out a dagger and slices (students) very kindly, into little shreds" when they debate. While several others, such as Professor Seth Lloyd, and institutions such as Harvard publicly turned their backs on him, Chomsky stood his ground.