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From: Lawrence Krauss
Sent: 4/6/2011 9:31:19 PM
To: Jeffrey Epstein [jeeyacation@gmail.com]
Subject: Fwd: Statement in the Daily Beast?
Importance: High
just 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 Watson
Date: April 6, 2011 10:28:36 AM MST
To: Lawrence Krauss
Subject: 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.. and
there was no happy resolution.. please add.. "probably everyone was a victim, with no happy resolution or
consequences 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, very
strongly disagree with your position and hope you eventually reconsider, but I do appreciate you taking the
time to respond.
-R
On 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 were
underage, and I doubt that people normally are asked for or present a driver's license under such
circumstances... Moreover, I also believe that Jeffrey is an easy target for those who want to take advantage of
him... Moreover, I can say with great honesty that Jeffrey's time in prison led him to seriously examine his
life in very positive ways and I don't believe in blanket condemnations of people. He served time for
something that was determined was inappropriate. I honestly don't know who was the victim in this case. I
fully expect that these masseuses knew what they were doing, and were not swayed to do anything with
Jeffrey that they were not already doing. That is not to approve of the whole behavior, but lots of peopleI
know 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 the
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young women. But all things are not equal in this case, from my point of view. It is a judgement call, and I
will 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 against
Epstein is overwhelming and he's even pled guilty to paying for sex with a minor. It's in no way scientific or
rational to assume that because you never saw him with an underage girl he must actually be innocent. It is
possible for a person to be kind and generous with his friends but still a criminal paying for sex with underage
girls 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 you
want to provide more context or if you've changed your mind.
-R
On 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 a
thoughtful, kind, considerate man who is generous to his friends, and all of the women I have known who
have 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 the
Universe podcast. I've really enjoyed your talks and books, but I was surprised to see you quoted in the Daily
Beast 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 do
with his money and his time, and support knowledge," says Krauss. "Jeffrey has surrounded himself with
beautiful women and young women but they're not as young as the ones that were claimed. As a scientist I
always judge things on empirical evidence and he always has women ages 19 to 23 around him, but I've
never seen anything else, so as a scientist, my presumption is that whatever the problems were I would
believe 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 Watson
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Lawrence M. Krauss
Foundation Professor
Director, The ASU Origins Project
Co-Director, Cosmology Initiative
Assoc. Dir, Beyond Center
ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
School of Earth and Space Exploration
PO Box 871404 I Tempe AZ 85287-1404
1_
http://krauss.faculty.asu.edu
Exec. Asst
Origins Asst
Lawrence M. Krauss
Foundation Professor
Director, The ASU Origins Project
Co-Director, Cosmology Initiative
Assoc. Dir, Beyond Center
ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
School of Earth and Space Exploration
PO Box 871404 I Tempe AZ 85287-1404
htt ://krauss.facult .asu.edu
Exec. Asst .
Origins Asst )
Lawrence M. Krauss
Foundation Professor
Director, The ASU Origins Project
Co-Director, Cosmology Initiative
Assoc. Dir, Beyond Center
ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
School of Earth and Space Exploration
PO Box 871404 I Tempe AZ 85287-1404
I
Exec. AsstIM
Origins Asst :
HOUSE OVERSIGHT 030897
Lawrence M. Krauss
Foundation Professor
Director, The ASU Origins Project
Co-Director, Cosmology Initiative
Assoc. Dir, Beyond Center
ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
School of Earth and Space Exploration
PO Box 871404 I Tempe AZ 85287-1404
http://krauss.faculty.asu.edu
Exec. Asst
Origins Asst
HOUSE OVERSIGHT 030898