Their media lab director Joi Ito took money from Epstein after his 2008 conviction and subsequent sentence and I think, after other accusations came out in 2015 concerning his supposedly sending a teenager to have sex with Dershowitz/Pr Andrew. Ito also had Epstein put money in some funds that he manages that invest in tech start-ups.
This was Ito's statement from last week:
The public controversy surrounding Epstein's donations to the lab date to 2015. In an apology he published last week, Ito said he first met Epstein in 2013 at a conference and had, in addition to inviting him to the lab, visited several of Epstein's homes.
"
I was never involved in, never heard him talk about, and never saw any evidence of the horrific acts that he was accused of," Ito wrote. He said he regretted allowing Epstein to make donations to the lab and to invest in several of his funds, which invest in tech startups outside of MIT.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mit-media-lab-epstein-ties-cause-two-researchers-quit/Imagine someone rationalizing taking money from Harvey Weinstein because he never appeared naked at a meeting with them personally, and tried to force them to have sex with him.
It's not just Ito/ MIT. Reuters did an article in 2015 following the Dershowitz/Andrew claims in which they spoke to several scientists who took money from him or had some kind of 'friendship' with him. This is from a now-retired highly praised evolutionary biologist from Rutgers.
Robert Trivers, a Rutgers University biologist... said Epstein is a person of integrity who should be given credit for serving time in prison and for settling civil lawsuits brought by women who said they were abused.
“Did he get an easy deal? Did he buy himself a light sentence? Well, yes, probably, compared to what you or I would get, but he did get locked up,” Trivers said. He said he got about $40,000 from Epstein to study the relationship between knee symmetry and sprinting ability.
Trivers also said he believes girls mature earlier than in the past. “By the time they’re 14 or 15, they’re like grown women were 60 years ago, so I don’t see these acts as so heinous,” he said.
I'll give him 'credit' for one thing. He probably came closer to being truthful about why he didn't care about Epstein's actions: a complete lack of regard for the victims that I suspect affected pretty much everyone who looked the other way. Just last month, Epstein's attorney was still referring to them as prostitutes in court, as they had done back in 2008.
If you have the time, read the article:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-epstein-charity/exclusive-some-charities-to-refuse-money-from-u-s-financier-accused-in-sex-case-idUSKBN0L51G720150201
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