Former Sen. Bob Kerrey, D-Neb., has resigned from a startup over his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, The New York Times reported.
The Justice Department's files on the New York financier showed that he and Kerrey met and exchanged emails over a decade ago.
Kerrey resigned from the board of Monolith, a clean energy startup, last Friday, the former senator confirmed to the Times, saying the Epstein emails would "make it difficult for them to succeed."
"I will offer no defense of my meetings with Jeffrey Epstein," Kerrey told the Times. "If I knew then what I know now, I would not have said yes to a meeting."
Monolith, based in Nebraska, is an American next-generation chemical and energy company focused on using advanced technology to transform industrial materials and reduce environmental impact.
Kerrey, who served two terms in the Senate and was also governor of Nebraska, had served as the chairman of the board of directors.
He met with Epstein when he served as president of The New School in New York City, after the New York financier pleaded guilty to charges of solicitation of prostitution with a minor.
Epstein and Kerrey met twice in early 2013.
In February of that year, Kerrey replied to an email inviting him to meet Epstein at Epstein's home while Bill Gates was scheduled to be present. Kerrey declined.
"Invite me again!" Kerrey wrote in one email.
In May, Kerrey wrote in an email to Epstein: "Thanks for breakfast. It was great being with you."
Emails indicate the two repeatedly tried to arrange meetings in 2013 and 2014.
The exchanges referenced proposed lunches and dinners that would have included filmmaker Woody Allen; former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak; and Peter Thiel, a co-founder of PayPal and Palantir.
Kerrey told the Times he recalled a single meeting with Epstein, adding that there may have been others he does not remember.
He said scrutiny of his association with Epstein distracts from efforts to secure justice for those harmed by Epstein.
"There are victims in this story and I am not one of them," he told the Times in a text.
"The victims are women who were abused by Epstein and his friends when they were children."
A spokeswoman for The New School told the Times the school has reviewed the correspondence between Kerrey and Epstein.
"Those interactions appear to have been limited and there is no indication that they were related to the activities of the New School," Amy Maslin said in a statement.
"We regret that any member of our community had any association with Mr. Epstein, whose crimes were reprehensible."
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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