Valeria Chomsky has admitted that she and her husband, the linguist Noam Chomsky, were ‘deceived’ into trusting Jeffrey Epstein, saying the couple now regret what she called a ‘grave mistake’ in associating with the late financier.
In a lengthy statement released on Saturday, she described their association with Epstein as the result of manipulation rather than intent, portraying the late billionaire as a calculated operator who gradually ‘encircled’ the 97-year-old scholar.
The comments come after US justice department documents renewed scrutiny of prominent figures who remained in communication with Epstein even after his 2008 guilty plea for soliciting prostitution, including a minor.
“We were careless in not thoroughly researching his background. This was a grave mistake,” Valeria Chomsky said. “For that lapse in judgment, I apologise on behalf of both of us.”
She added that her husband – who suffered a massive stroke in 2023 – had shared the same regret before his illness.
According to her account, Epstein presented himself not as a predator but as a philanthropist with a keen interest in science and academic work. Introduced to the couple in 2015, he offered intellectual discussions, gifts and invitations to gatherings that appeared scholarly in nature.
“Unknowingly, we opened a door to a Trojan horse,” she wrote.
The couple attended dinners at Epstein’s New York townhouse, stayed at his apartments in New York and Paris, and visited his ranch in New Mexico. They insist they never visited his private island and had no knowledge of the abuse later linked to it.
Even after the Miami Herald exposed Epstein’s history of exploiting underage girls in 2018, Valeria said they did not grasp ‘the extent’ of his crimes until his second arrest in 2019.
She described how Epstein crafted a narrative of persecution, claiming he had been unfairly targeted. Noam Chomsky, long critical of media and political controversies, accepted this version ‘in good faith’, she said.
“It is now clear that it was all orchestrated,” she added, suggesting Epstein sought to attach himself to respected public figures to rehabilitate his image.
