This week, the Wall Street Journal reported that LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman had visited Jeffrey Epstein’s private island.
The Journal reviewed thousands of pages of schedules and emails dating from 2013 to 2017, which revealed some of the powerful people Epstein remained in contact with after becoming a registered sex offender.
While many of those named in the documents were already known to have associated with Epstein, some new information came to light, including the information about Democrat billionaire donor Reid Hoffman.
According to the Journal, Hoffman traveled to Epstein’s Caribbean island, Little St. James, in March 2014 and again in November 2014. During the second visit, Epstein was scheduled to travel with Hoffman and former MIT Media Lab director Joi Ito from Palm Beach to Little St. James for a weekend after which the three of them would fly together to Boston.
In December 2014, Hoffman was scheduled to stay overnight in Epstein’s townhouse in Manhattan so he could attend a “breakfast party” the following morning.
When asked about the visits to Little St. James, Hoffman told the Wall Street Journal in an email that he only visited Epstein’s island home for an MIT fundraising trip with Joi Ito.
Hoffman told the Journal that he regrets meeting with Epstein, saying it gnawed at him that he helped Epstein’s reputation and, in turn, “delayed justice for his survivors.”
Hoffman said he had “relied on MIT’s endorsement” when he agreed to attend the fundraising trip and said doing so was a mistake. He apologized for his “personal misjudgment.”
Joi Ito told the Wall Street Journal that Hoffman attended several MIT fundraising events at his request, including the one held at Epstein’s island. He acknowledged confirming to Hoffman that Jeffrey Epstein was one of MIT’s approved donor targets “in accordance with university rules and regulations.”
According to the Wall Street Journal, Ito resigned from MIT after Epstein’s 2019 arrest and apologized for accepting funds from the convicted pedophile.
