File 030895
Email Chain: Lawrence Krauss Defends Jeffrey Epstein to Rebecca Watson (File 030895)
April 2011 email correspondence where physicist Lawrence Krauss defends Jeffrey Epstein against allegations of paying for sex with minors, arguing his personal experience contradicts public evidence.
Summary
Rebecca Watson, a podcaster and science communicator, contacts Lawrence Krauss to question a Daily Beast quote in which Krauss defends Jeffrey Epstein. Krauss responds by asserting that based on his personal experience, Epstein is a thoughtful and generous man, and that he has never witnessed inappropriate behavior. Watson challenges his position, noting Epstein's guilty plea and the overwhelming evidence against him. Krauss maintains his stance through multiple exchanges, arguing that people can have problematic private behavior while being kind to friends, and that he will not abandon a friend based on public allegations.
From: Lawrence KraussSent: 4/6/2011 9:31:19 PMTo: Jeffrey Epstein [jeeyacation@gmail.com]Subject: Fwd: Statement in the Daily Beast?Importance: Highjust so you know.. you can read from bottom up.. you may be mad that I was blunt... haven't heard from you..hope all is well..Begin forwarded message:From: Rebecca WatsonDate: April 6, 2011 10:28:36 AM MSTTo: Lawrence KraussSubject: Re: Statement in the Daily Beast?Okay, will do.On Wed, Apr 6, 2011 at 1:27 PM, Lawrence Krauss wrote:ok.. I just sent an additional email which moderates this.. everyone was a victim, including Jeffrey here.. andthere was no happy resolution.. please add.. "probably everyone was a victim, with no happy resolution orconsequences of these activities", after "was the victim in this case.".On Apr 6, 2011, at 10:18 AM, Rebecca Watson wrote:Okay, thanks for this statement . . . I'll print it in full along with the article, probably today. I very, verystrongly disagree with your position and hope you eventually reconsider, but I do appreciate you taking thetime to respond.-ROn Wed, Apr 6, 2011 at 1:15 PM, Lawrence Krauss___________________wrote:-jeffrey apparently paid for massages with sex... I believe him when he told me he had no idea the girls wereunderage, and I doubt that people normally are asked for or present a driver's license under suchcircumstances... Moreover, I also believe that Jeffrey is an easy target for those who want to take advantage ofhim... Moreover, I can say with great honesty that Jeffrey's time in prison led him to seriously examine hislife in very positive ways and I don't believe in blanket condemnations of people. He served time forsomething that was determined was inappropriate. I honestly don't know who was the victim in this case. Ifully expect that these masseuses knew what they were doing, and were not swayed to do anything withJeffrey that they were not already doing. That is not to approve of the whole behavior, but lots of peopleIknow and like have behavior I don't entirely approve of. I know it is not politically correct to say that,because in general this is a very sensitive issue and all other things being equal one should take the side of theHOUSE OVERSIGHT 030895young women. But all things are not equal in this case, from my point of view. It is a judgement call, and Iwill not turn my back on a good friend so easily.On Apr 6, 2011, at 9:57 AM, Rebecca Watson wrote:Thanks for getting back to me. I was asking because I found the quote shocking . . . the evidence againstEpstein is overwhelming and he's even pled guilty to paying for sex with a minor. It's in no way scientific orrational to assume that because you never saw him with an underage girl he must actually be innocent. It ispossible for a person to be kind and generous with his friends but still a criminal paying for sex with underagegirls in his private life.I'm going to write about the topic on Skepchick, and I'll include any additional statement you'd like if youwant to provide more context or if you've changed your mind.-ROn Wed, Apr 6, 2011 at 12:50 PM, Lawrence Krauss___________________wrote:yes it is.. Based on my direct experience with Jeffrey, which is all I can base my assessment on, he is athoughtful, kind, considerate man who is generous to his friends, and all of the women I have known whohave been associated with Jeffrey speak glowingly in the same words..why are you asking?On Apr 6, 2011, at 9:41 AM, Rebecca Watson wrote:Dear Professor Krauss,We met briefly after your talk in Ithaca a few months ago — I'm the girl on The Skeptics' Guide to theUniverse podcast. I've really enjoyed your talks and books, but I was surprised to see you quoted in the DailyBeast recently defending Jeffrey Epstein:http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-04-01/bill-clinton-katie-couric-woody-allen-jeffrey-epsteins-society-friends-close-ranks/2/Can you confirm if the following quote is accurate?"If anything, the unfortunate period he suffered has caused him to really think about what he wants to dowith his money and his time, and support knowledge," says Krauss. "Jeffrey has surrounded himself withbeautiful women and young women but they're not as young as the ones that were claimed. As a scientist Ialways judge things on empirical evidence and he always has women ages 19 to 23 around him, but I'venever seen anything else, so as a scientist, my presumption is that whatever the problems were I wouldbelieve him over other people." Though colleagues have criticized him over his relationship with Epstein,Krauss insists, "I don't feel tarnished in any way by my relationship with Jeffrey; I feel raised by it."Thanks,Rebecca WatsonHOUSE OVERSIGHT 030896Lawrence M. KraussFoundation ProfessorDirector, The ASU Origins ProjectCo-Director, Cosmology InitiativeAssoc. Dir, Beyond CenterARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITYCollege of Liberal Arts and SciencesSchool of Earth and Space ExplorationPO Box 871404 I Tempe AZ 85287-14041_http://krauss.faculty.asu.eduExec. AsstOrigins AsstLawrence M. KraussFoundation ProfessorDirector, The ASU Origins ProjectCo-Director, Cosmology InitiativeAssoc. Dir, Beyond CenterARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITYCollege of Liberal Arts and SciencesSchool of Earth and Space ExplorationPO Box 871404 I Tempe AZ 85287-1404htt ://krauss.facult .asu.eduExec. Asst .Origins Asst )Lawrence M. KraussFoundation ProfessorDirector, The ASU Origins ProjectCo-Director, Cosmology InitiativeAssoc. Dir, Beyond CenterARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITYCollege of Liberal Arts and SciencesSchool of Earth and Space ExplorationPO Box 871404 I Tempe AZ 85287-1404IExec. AsstIMOrigins Asst :HOUSE OVERSIGHT 030897Lawrence M. KraussFoundation ProfessorDirector, The ASU Origins ProjectCo-Director, Cosmology InitiativeAssoc. Dir, Beyond CenterARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITYCollege of Liberal Arts and SciencesSchool of Earth and Space ExplorationPO Box 871404 I Tempe AZ 85287-1404http://krauss.faculty.asu.eduExec. AsstOrigins AsstHOUSE OVERSIGHT 030898