Former Senator Bob Kerrey Resigns from Clean Energy Startup After Emails with Jeffrey Epstein

Former Senator Bob Kerrey (D-Neb.) has resigned from the board of Monolith, a clean energy startup over his correspondence with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Justice Department records show that Kerrey and Epstein exchanged emails more than a decade ago. The former senator said he stepped down last Friday, stating the emails would “make it difficult for them to succeed.”

“I will offer no defense of my meetings with Jeffrey Epstein,” Kerrey stated in a statement. “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 served two terms in the Senate and was governor of Nebraska before becoming chairman of Monolith’s board. He met Epstein while serving as president of The New School in New York City, after the 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 declined an email invitation from Epstein to meet at his home while Bill Gates was scheduled to be present.

“Invite me again!” Kerrey wrote in one email.

In May 2013, Kerrey sent Epstein a text: “Thanks for breakfast. It was great being with you.”

Emails indicate the two repeatedly tried to arrange meetings throughout 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 recalled only one meeting with Epstein but admitted he may have forgotten others. He said that scrutiny of his association with Epstein distracts from efforts to secure justice for the victims.

“There are victims in this story and I am not one of them,” Kerrey stated. “The victims are women who were abused by Epstein and his friends when they were children.”

A spokeswoman for The New School, Amy Maslin, said that 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,” Maslin stated. “We regret that any member of our community had any association with Mr. Epstein, whose crimes were reprehensible.”