Bob Kerrey

Joseph Robert "Bob" Kerrey (J. Robert Kerrey, born August 27, 1943¹) is a former United States Navy SEAL officer who served as Governor of Nebraska and as a United States Senator from Nebraska, and who was president of the New School for Social Research from January 2001 to December 2010.¹² He was vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in the 105th Congress (1997 to 1998), co-chaired the National Commission for the Review of the National Reconnaissance Office in 2000, and sat on the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States from 2003 to 2004.³ He sat on the boards of Tenet Healthcare, Genworth Financial, Jones Apparel Group and, according to Tenet's 2001 proxy statement, the board of trustees of The Aerospace Corporation.⁴

Navy service and the Thanh Phong raid

Kerrey graduated from the University of Nebraska in 1966, attended Officer Candidate School at Naval Station Newport, and was deployed to Vietnam as a Navy SEAL officer in 1969.⁵ On the night of February 25, 1969, as a 25-year-old lieutenant, he led a seven-man commando team into Thanh Phong, a hamlet in the Mekong Delta. Gregory L. Vistica wrote in The New York Times Magazine in April 2001 that "around midnight on Feb. 25, 1969, Kerrey and his men killed at least 13 unarmed women and children," and that "witnesses and official records give varying accounts of exactly what happened."⁶

Amy Waldman of The New York Times reported on April 25, 2001 that Vistica, a former Newsweek reporter, had begun the story for Newsweek, which decided not to publish it after Kerrey decided not to run for president in 2000, and that Vistica did more than a year of further reporting before the Magazine published it. Kerrey first spoke publicly about the raid in an April 18, 2001 speech at the Virginia Military Institute: "I have been haunted by it for 32 years." The Magazine article was posted on the Times website on April 25 as the cover story of that Sunday's issue, and 60 Minutes II was to broadcast its report the following Tuesday.⁷ CBS carries Part I of its transcript under the date May 1, 2001.⁸

Kerrey's account. Kerrey told Vistica in a 1998 interview that "we took fire from the target." Vistica reported that an after-action report says the team "received several rounds from about 100 yards," and that in April 2001 Kerrey said he "couldn't be absolutely certain that shots were fired."⁹ Kerrey told Vistica in 1998: "The thing that I will remember until the day I die is walking in and finding, I don't know, 14 or so, I don't even know what the number was, women and children who were dead."⁹ Vistica wrote that Kerrey read six pages of after-action reports in late 1998.⁹ CBS reported that Kerrey agreed to talk to the Times Magazine and 60 Minutes II only after Vistica discovered previously classified military documents that suggested women and children had been killed.⁸ In his 2001 interview with Dan Rather, Kerrey said the squad "just emptied everything we could into this place and we were taking fire." He added: "There was a cluster of women and children, they were all dead. So that's the outcome." Of the first hooch, CBS reported that Kerrey said the squad used knives on five men, and Kerrey said: "in my mind, I personally killed all of them."⁸ Asked about a battle report reading "two hooches destroyed, 14 VC KIA," Kerrey said "We considered everybody in that area to be VC and that's how we would report it."⁸ In the same program Kerrey said of Klann's version that "It is neither possible nor probable. It's not impossible that some version of what Gerhard is talking about happened. But it's not my memory."¹⁰ Kerrey and the five other SEALs on the operation, other than Klann, issued a statement in April 2001 that read: "At the village we received fire and we returned fire," and that the memory "that we rounded up women and children and shot them at point blank range, is simply not true."¹⁰¹¹

Klann's account. Gerhard Klann, a member of Kerrey's squad, gave a different account to Vistica and to 60 Minutes II. Klann said the first hooch held a mixture of people, three of them children, and that his own job was to kill the old man there. He named Kerrey as the man who helped him: "Bob Kerrey. I think he kneeled on his chest and so I put his head back and cut this [sic] throat." CBS reported that Klann said the unit knew there were women and children before it opened fire at the second set of hooches, and Klann described the result: "It was carnage."⁸¹⁰ In 2001 Klann was a steel worker in Pennsylvania, and he stood by his story.¹⁰ Vistica wrote that Klann was reluctant to speak to him, ignoring two letters and numerous telephone calls over about six months, and relented after Vistica drove to his home in western Pennsylvania.⁹ Michael Ambrose, another member of the squad, told CBS that Kerrey helped Klann kill the old man at the first hooch, and disagreed with Klann that the villagers were rounded up and shot, while saying that they were shot at 20 to 50 feet, closer than Kerrey contends.¹⁰

Pham Tri Lanh's account. Pham Tri Lanh was 62 years old when 60 Minutes II interviewed her at Thanh Phong. She said she hid behind a banana tree and watched the Americans kill an old woman, an old man, two girls and a boy in the first hooch, the old man having been dragged to a water pump and his throat cut, and that the Americans then ordered villagers out of a bunker, lined them up and shot them from behind. CBS noted that she had been a Communist revolutionary during the war, and later reported that journalists who went to the village afterward said she now stated she had heard some of the killings rather than seen them.¹² The Los Angeles Times reported on April 29, 2001 that Lanh, interviewed on April 28, said she had actually seen only the first two killings, having earlier claimed to have witnessed all of them.¹³ Dan Kennedy of the Providence Phoenix reported that Time magazine wrote of Lanh that "then she changed it, saying she hadn't actually seen the killings, but had only heard the screams and later seen the bodies," and that after telling Vistica and 60 Minutes II producer Tom Anderson that her husband had been a member of the Viet Cong, she denied it to Time. Kennedy quoted Time as asking whether she was "an honest witness, a propagandist or just an old woman with a hazy memory."¹¹

Bui Thi Luom's account. Bui Thi Luom was twelve at the time. She told journalists on April 28, 2001, according to the Los Angeles Times, that the commandos woke the occupants of an earthen shelter, ordered them to sit on the ground outside, and "then opened fire at close range"; she said 15 members of her family were killed and that she escaped with a knee wound.¹³ The Vietnam News Agency, quoting the Washington Post, reported that Luom said: "Nobody fired on the Americans before they initiated the fatal barrage."¹⁴

The Vietnamese government's account. The Vietnam News Agency, the Vietnamese state news agency, reported on May 10, 2001: "The massacre of innocent civilians at Thanh Phong hamlet on a February night 32 years ago, as admitted by former U.S. senator, Bob Kerrey, has been exposed by Vietnamese witnesses during their interviews with a group of foreign journalists who visited the hamlet on April 28."¹⁴ The Los Angeles Times reported that the Vietnamese government allowed the journalists to visit Thanh Phong that Saturday, and that the government the previous week had welcomed Kerrey's show of remorse and suggested that he and other troubled veterans take "concrete and realistic actions" to help heal wounds left by the war.¹³

Kerrey on Lanh and Klann. Asked by Rather about the eyewitness who described an elderly man, an elderly woman and three children at the first hooch, Kerrey said that "Gerhard I will not contradict," and that "as to the eyewitness is at the very least, sympathetic to the Viet Cong. At the absolute very least." Asked what the most might be, he said: "Might be Viet Cong themselves."¹⁰ Kerrey rejected Klann's claim that he had tried to get Klann to change his story: "That is not true. God bless Gerhard, that is not, if I was gonna change Gerhard's story, I would have contacted him three years ago."¹⁵

Hoffmann. Kerrey described his commanding officer, Roy Hoffmann, to Vistica: "He wanted hooches destroyed and people killed." Vistica reported that Hoffmann agrees but says he never intended for his men to kill innocent women or children. Kerrey told Vistica in April 2001: "We were instructed not to take prisoners."¹⁶ Waldman reported that in television interviews on April 25 Kerrey was "more emphatic in denying that his unit knowingly killed women and children" than in his interviews with the Times over the previous two years, and in one broadcast interview described the incident as "a firefight."⁷

The Bronze Star. For Thanh Phong Kerrey received a Bronze Star. The 60 Minutes II narration stated that the citation "credits Kerrey and his men with killing 21 Viet Cong." The Los Angeles Times wrote that Kerrey received the award "after his squad falsely reported that it had killed 21 Viet Cong in the attack." Asked by Rather whether the award was inappropriate, Kerrey said: "I think it's inappropriately awarded, yeah." He also said: "I didn't send it back. But I've never worn it."¹³¹⁵

The Medal of Honor. Two weeks after Thanh Phong, according to CBS, Kerrey led a SEAL team up cliffs it described as 300 feet high against Viet Cong on an island off Nha Trang; CBS reported that he split the team, there was crossfire, he was wounded and he lost a leg, and that Kerrey said he wanted to take the enemy soldiers prisoner on that mission. Richard Nixon later presented him the Medal of Honor.¹⁵ The Navy's citation, as published by the Military Times Hall of Valor, gives March 14, 1969 as the action date and presents the award "for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a SEAL Team Leader for Seal Team ONE during action against enemy aggressor (Viet Cong) forces in Nha Trang Bay, Republic of Vietnam, on 14 March 1969." The citation states that he and his team "scaled a 350-foot sheer cliff," that a grenade "exploded at his feet and threw him backward onto the jagged rocks," and that "The enemy soldiers who were captured provided critical intelligence to the allied effort." The Hall of Valor describes Kerrey as the first U.S. Navy SEAL to receive the Medal of Honor.¹

Governor, senator and the National Commission for the Review of the National Reconnaissance Office

The National Governors Association lists Kerrey's term as governor as January 6, 1983 to January 9, 1987.¹⁷ The commission's biography of him says "Upon taking office as Governor in 1982" and records his leaving office in 1987; Tenet's proxy statements of 2001 and 2002 give his governorship as "from 1982 to 1987"; Genworth's 2005 proxy statement says "From January 1982 to December 1987"; and Tenet's 2012 release and the Hall of Valor give 1983 to 1987.^14181920 He was elected to the United States Senate in 1988, took office in 1989, and was re-elected in 1994.¹⁸ The commission's report described him as having "recently finished serving as Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI)."¹⁸ The committee's special report on its activities from January 7, 1997 to October 21, 1998 lists Richard C. Shelby as Chairman and J. Robert Kerrey as Vice Chairman; the roster of a committee hearing in June 2000 lists Richard H. Bryan as Vice Chairman.²¹ Kerrey wrote in 2003 that he was "a member and later as the Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence."²² The Democracy Now program reported in December 2003 that as a senator he had been the ranking Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee.²³ He signed the November 1999 conference report on the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000 as one of the Senate managers, alongside Richard Shelby and Wayne Allard.²⁴

The commission was created by Title VII of the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000, approved December 3, 1999, as Public Law 106-120.²⁵ The conference report's joint explanatory statement says that neither the House bill nor the Senate amendment contained a similar provision, that "the managers determined that an independent review of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO)" was needed before the conferees met, and that they included the provision. Porter Goss filed the conference report for the House.²⁴ Section 702 set the membership at eleven: the Deputy Director of Central Intelligence for Community Management, three members appointed by the Senate majority leader (one senator and two private citizens), two by the Senate minority leader, three by the Speaker of the House and two by the House minority leader. The director of the National Reconnaissance Office sat as an ex officio member.²⁵ The statute required two co-chairs, one from each party, jointly agreed by the President and the congressional leaders, and set November 1, 2000 as the deadline for the final report.²⁵

The co-chairs were Kerrey and Goss, the Republican Representative from Florida who chaired the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.²⁶ In an August 11, 2003 letter to NRO director Peter B. Teets, written in response to an article in U.S. News & World Report titled "Lack of Intelligence," Kerrey wrote: "believing that organizational change was needed, I wrote the 1999 Congressional Act that authorized the creation of the National Commission for the Review of the National Reconnaissance Office. After President Clinton signed this into law, I asked Congressman Porter Goss to co-chair this effort with me." The letter says the commission met first on February 1, 2000 and released its report on November 15, 2000.²² The commission's report is itself dated November 1, 2000, on its cover, so the two dates sit side by side in the record.²⁷ The report's Appendix G gives Porter Goss a parallel biography as co-chairman, on pages 135 to 136.²⁷ The report's appendix lists Wayne Allard, Anthony C. Beilenson, Larry D. Cox, Joan Avalyn Dempsey (Deputy Director of Central Intelligence for Community Management), Norm Dicks, Martin C. Faga, Keith R. Hall (NRO director, ex officio), Patrick M. Hughes, Eli S. Jacobs and William Schneider Jr. as members.²⁶ The report, titled The NRO at the Crossroads, is dated November 1, 2000 on its cover. Its executive summary recommended that a new office, to be called the Office of Space Reconnaissance, be established, and states that "The NRO has become a publicly acknowledged organization that openly announces many of its new program initiatives."²⁸ Its biography of Kerrey states that he "earned the Congressional Medal of Honor, America's highest military honor, and is currently the only member of Congress who has received this honor."¹⁸ Kerrey's 2003 letter quotes the report's unanimous findings, including "Over time, the NRO has gained a well-deserved reputation as the preeminent research, development, and acquisition organization in the Intelligence Community and DoD."²²

The 9/11 Commission

On December 10, 2003, Democracy Now reported that Kerrey had been named to the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States, replacing Max Cleland, who had stepped down to serve on the Export-Import Bank of the United States.²³ The commission's biography of him says that he "chose not to run for re-election a third time because of the offer to be President of New School University." The commission closed on August 21, 2004.³

Committee for the Liberation of Iraq and the 2002 protests

In November 2002 Salon reported that Kerrey was part of the newly formed Committee for the Liberation of Iraq, with former Secretary of State George P. Shultz and Senator John McCain, a group meant to shore up support for regime change in Iraq.²⁹ In December 2002 New School students confronted him over the committee. Democracy Now headlined the confrontation as students who "Demand Resignation."³⁰ The same program reported in December 2003 that thousands of New School students had protested his decision to join the committee the previous year.²³

New School presidency, 2001 to 2010

On February 17, 2000, the Associated Press reported, in the Orlando Sentinel, that Kerrey had announced the previous month that he would not seek a third term. He said he would start working for the university "next January, after he officially has left office."³¹ The New York Post headlined its item "New School taps Kerrey" and described him as a 56-year-old Vietnam veteran.³² The Times reported that Kerrey said he had been planning to run for a third Senate term until the school approached him, that his predecessor Jonathan F. Fanton, appointed in 1984, had left the $250,000 post with its official Greenwich Village residence the previous September for the MacArthur Foundation, and that Kerrey did not yet have a formal contract. It quoted Philip Scaturro, the school's chancellor.³³

On February 13, 2001, the Times ran a profile of Kerrey by Karen W. Arenson, which identifies Scaturro as "an investment banker and trustee of the New School." Scaturro said of the appointment: "The attraction of someone like Bob is that he could bring us more visibility, broaden our constituency and give us call on more resources," and added that Kerrey's "leadership skills and independent mind were also pluses."³⁴

A New School fact sheet captured by the Internet Archive on December 11, 2000 names John L. Tishman as chairman of the board of trustees. Arnold H. Aronson, Michael E. Gellert and Nancy B. Peretsman are listed as vice chairs, and Scaturro as treasurer. The same page names Scaturro as chancellor and chief officer, Elizabeth Dickey as acting provost, and James Murtha as executive vice president.³⁵ The university installed Kerrey as its seventh president at Carnegie Hall on February 20, 2001. Tishman gave introductory remarks, and Joseph Lieberman, then a senator from Connecticut, spoke.³⁶ The Tenet proxy statement of August 2001 gives Kerrey as "President of New School University in New York City since January 2001."⁴

The New School Archives' biographical note states that Kerrey "was an unpopular choice with faculty members, although his political connections made him very popular with the board of trustees," and that he renamed New School University as The New School in 2005. The same note dates his presidency "from 2001 through 2010" and states that he was "succeeded in 2011 by David Van Zandt."⁵ The New School's press release of August 26, 2010 announcing Van Zandt as eighth president states that Kerrey "will remain as New School president until the end of 2010," that Van Zandt would assume the post on January 1, 2011, and that Kerrey "was appointed in 2001," and the Chronicle of Higher Education wrote in 2012 that Van Zandt "succeeded Mr. Kerrey as New School's president in January 2011."²³⁷

In March 2002 Kenneth Prewitt, recruited as dean of the Graduate Faculty of Political and Social Science, resigned on March 6 after less than a year. He told The American Prospect: "Given the prevailing priorities in the administration," he said, "I could not do what I had been recruited to do." The Prospect reported that the trustees, after Vistica's article appeared, had stood by Kerrey, reminding the public in a statement that "war is hell" and giving him their "unqualified support."³⁸ At a faculty and student meeting on March 15, 2002, in Tishman Auditorium, Prewitt described a provost's proposal for "private bonuses" to deans who raised enrollment, and Kerrey took the microphone and asked: "You know whose idea the 'private bonuses' were?" He answered "Mine," and added: "I concede now that it was a bad idea."³⁸

On January 4, 2004, the trustees extended Kerrey's term to June 2011, from an original expiry in June 2006. Scaturro, then chairperson of the board, said: "In just four years as president, Bob Kerrey has confidently charted an ambitious course that has given the university far greater national visibility and recognition."³⁹

On June 30, 2008, the school announced that Julien J. Studley would succeed Scaturro as chairman of the board of trustees effective July 1, 2008, and that Scaturro would remain a trustee. The release described Scaturro as having "served as Chairman since 2002." Kerrey, quoted in the same release, said Studley had joined the board in 1987.⁴⁰

On December 10, 2008, the Faculty Senate met in an emergency closed-door session and approved a motion of no confidence in Kerrey. A summary released by faculty senate co-chair Jim Miller recorded 74 votes in favor, two against and one abstention, and the Chronicle of Higher Education described the vote as "nearly unanimous."⁴¹ NBC New York reported the same tally on December 11, with the faculty members described as senior and tenured.⁴² The trustees met the same day at a regularly scheduled meeting and, according to a university statement, unanimously expressed confidence in Kerrey's leadership.⁴¹⁴² The faculty vote followed Kerrey's announcement that he would serve as provost temporarily after the departure of the fifth provost in seven years.⁴² amNewYork reported on December 23 that after a Faculty Senate meeting a week before the student occupation, a majority of senior faculty members approved a no-confidence measure against Kerrey "by a vote of 269 to 18."⁴³

On Wednesday, December 17, 2008, several dozen students occupied the ground-floor cafeteria of the New School's graduate faculty building on Fifth Avenue.⁴³⁴⁴ The students' demands included the resignation of Kerrey, of Murtha and of Robert Millard, the treasurer of the board of trustees, along with transparency in investments and a socially responsible investment committee.⁴³ amNewYork reported that the occupation ended peacefully early on Friday morning, December 19. The six-point document that Kerrey signed did not include the resignations. It granted total amnesty to those involved, provided for student participation in establishing a committee for socially responsible investing, and gave a student senate representative access to board meetings.⁴³ The New School Archives' biographical note states that the New York City police "were brought in to expel" students from the building.⁵

In May 2009 Kerrey announced that he would step down once a successor was named. The Chronicle reported that the trustees then awarded him a $1.2 million "retention" bonus, according to the university's Form 990, and that with a deferred compensation payout of more than $620,000 his total earnings from the school for 2010 to 2011 came to $3,047,703; it gave his base earnings for 2010 to 2011 as $602,593. Board chairman Michael J. Johnston said the bonus was meant "to ensure a smooth transition to his successor's presidency."³⁷ Financial disclosures from Kerrey's 2012 campaign office estimated that he would earn between $400,000 and $600,000 a year as president emeritus.³⁷ David E. Van Zandt succeeded him in January 2011 and was installed as university president on September 15, 2011.³⁷⁴⁵

Jeffrey Epstein

A list of invitees for a September 16 dinner that the publicist Peggy Siegal sent Jeffrey Epstein on August 10, 2010 under the subject "Sept. 16 dinner" includes Kerrey and his wife.⁴⁶

Kerrey first appears in the scheduling records on February 21, 2013. Stephen M. Kosslyn, then director of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, wrote to Epstein's scheduler Lesley Groff about a lunch the next day: "Would noon work?" and "Ben wants to bring Senator Bob Kerrey with him. Would that be OK with JEE?" Groff answered: "Jeffrey says YES to all! 12:00 and bring along Sen. Bob Kerrey".⁴⁷ The schedule for Friday, February 22 lists "12:00pm Lunch w/Professor Kosslyn, Ben Nelson and Senator Bob Kerrey", and a calendar reminder for the day reads "12:00 Lunch w/Professor Kosslyn, Ben Nelson and Sen Bob Kerrey".⁴⁸ The Ben of the exchange is Ben Nelson, the founder and chief executive of the Minerva Project, whose seed investment from Benchmark Capital was $25 million in 2012.⁴⁹ Kosslyn wrote to Epstein that evening, weighing a position with the project, that he was "absolutely torn by the situation", that "the rest of the team is A+", and that Kerrey was "really terrific". Epstein replied on February 22: "i see little downside , in taking it, but having all the money you need up front".⁵⁰

On February 27, 2013 Epstein wrote to Kosslyn: "i have bill gates at the house tonight after 10.. does bob kerry know bill, how well, would he like to come", and Kosslyn returned an address for Kerrey.⁵¹ Epstein wrote to Kerrey the same day: "bob, do you know bill gates.? He will be at my house , and i wondered if you would like to stop by?" Kerrey answered the next morning: "I just picked this up. I flew to Dallas yesterday and then on to California. I won't return until next Thursday. Sorry. I do know Bill Gates; not well but we've met a few times. Invite me again! I enjoyed meeting and talking to you. Thanks." Epstein replied: "sorry , you would have made a positve difference in the conversation on education. I will return on the 19 th and 20th if you are free ,".⁵² On March 1 Kerrey wrote to Epstein under the subject "Better email": "Jeff I respond faster to text. This is a better email." Epstein answered "great.. i will return to ny the 19th, but could speak on the phone before", and Kerrey wrote: "I head to Belize with my family on 3/17 and return on 3/24." He proposed meeting after his return.⁵³ On March 12 Groff asked Epstein: "Did you want me to touch base with Bob Kerrey of the Minvera Project and see if he might be free 19th, 20th?", and Epstein replied "ok".⁵⁴ Kerrey wrote to Groff on March 13: "I am sorry (actually I am not sorry!) but I will be in Belize with my family next week. Please, tell Jeffrey thanks for the offer to get together again. I do look forward to continuing our conversations."⁵⁵

On April 9, 2013 Epstein wrote to Kerrey: "are you in town to join a dinner with woody alien at my house 23rd?" Kerrey answered within ten minutes: "April 23rd? It looks open but I am cc'ing Nily to make certain." The reply that followed came from Kerrey's scheduler, whose signature reads "Scheduler/ Asst. to Bob Kerrey" at The New School, 80 Fifth Avenue, Room 806.⁵⁶ On April 10 Groff wrote to the household staff: "Wanted to let you all know a small dinner party is in the works for Tues. April 23rd at 7:30pm! Woody Allen, Soon Yi and Bob Kerrey are the invited guests so far..we know this will get bigger!"⁵⁷ Epstein wrote that day to Mort Zuckerman: "dinner on the 23 with bob kerrey and woody, . woudl you like to invite Joel klein, or someone who might enjoy while being able to keep up."⁵⁸ An April 15, 2013 calendar alert reads "NEED to start coordinating dinner w/woody,soon yi, bob Kerrey for April 23" (a dinner with Woody Allen, Soon-Yi Previn and Kerrey).⁵⁹ The schedules of April 15 to 17 list "7:30pm Dinner w/Ehud Barak, Nili, Woody Allen, Soon Yi, Bob Kerrey, Mort Zuckerman (Mort will arrive after 8:30pm) Joel Klein and his wife, Nicole Seligman".⁶⁰ A staff headcount of April 18 names "Woody, Soon yi, Ehud, Nili, Joel Klein, Nicole Seligman, Bob Kerrey, Nicole Seligman." and Epstein answered: "ehud and nilli are not invited, it is mort."⁶¹ The schedules from April 19 list "7:30pm Dinner w/ Woody Allen, Soon Yi, Bob Kerrey, Mort Zuckerman (Mort will arrive after 8:30pm) Joel Klein and his wife, Nicole Seligman".⁶² On April 22 Groff wrote to Epstein: "Woody, Soon Yi, Bob Kerrey have all been told dinner is a 7:30 arrival..."⁶³

On April 23, 2013 Groff wrote to Kerrey: "Jeffrey wants Bob to know this is very informal tonight...no ties!...wear jeans if you want!"⁶⁴ Kerrey's scheduler wrote to Groff that day: "Bob said that he will be coming alone (and in jeans)!"⁶⁵ The calendar entry for the evening reads "7:30 DINNER W/WOODY ALLEN, SOON YI, Bob Kerrey, Mort Zuckerman (Mort to arrive after 8:30)".⁶⁶ Epstein wrote to Kerrey at 11:30 that night: "thanks ,, next time we should have more one on one time". Kerrey answered on April 24: "Sounds good to me. Thanks for a wonderful evening." Epstein asked: "give me the name of the book that has currently been able to capture your obviously wide interest." Kerrey replied: "Orlando Figes "The Crimean War" and "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry" by Rachel Joyce."⁶⁷ Amazon shipping notices dated April 25, 2013 in Epstein's files report the shipment of two books: "When I Was a Young Man: A Memoir" by Bob Kerrey and "The Education of Lieutenant Kerrey" by Gregory L. Vistica.⁶⁸ An email from Epstein's account of April 25 with no recipient listed carries the subject line "ehud, larry, ? jes, anderw? joel kelin, leon bottsetin? , kerrey. mort."⁶⁹

On April 27 Groff asked Kerrey about breakfast at Epstein's house on the following Thursday or Sunday. Kerrey wrote: "Thursday May 2nd doesn't work. Do you mean Sunday May 5th? What time?"⁷⁰ The breakfast took place on Sunday, May 5. Kerrey wrote to Epstein that afternoon, under the subject "Breakfast": "Thanks for breakfast. It was great being with you. If you can get me Terry's contact information, I will try to get the other Kerry to reach out to him."⁷¹ Epstein forwarded the message to Terje Rød-Larsen at 4:25 pm, and on May 6 sent it again to Kerrey and Rød-Larsen together under the subject "Re: Breakfast".⁷²

On May 28, 2013 Epstein wrote to Groff: "see if Bob kerrey would like to join me and ehod on the 4th."⁷³ A schedule line of the same day reads "12:00pm Appt w/Ehud Barak (LUNCH??) Possibly Bob Kerrey also (Awaiting replyfrom Bob Kerrey's office)".⁷⁴ Groff wrote to Kerrey: "Jeffrey is having Ehud Barak to his home on Tuesday June 4th at noon...Jeffrey is wondering if you might be available to join the meeting as well. Might you be around and available?" Kerrey replied: "I think so. I am cc'ing Natia who can confirm." Groff answered: "You are available! We actually just firmed everything up! We will see you at noon for lunch with Jeffrey and Ehud on June 4th at noon!"⁷⁵ She told Epstein: "Bob Kerrey will join the meeting with you and Barak on June 4th at noon! Do you want this to be a lunch?"⁷⁶ On May 28 Groff also wrote to household staff under the heading "Lunch w/Barak and Bob Kerrey": "Heads up! We have scheduled Barak and Bob Kerrey for lunch at noon on Tues. June 4th!"⁷⁷ The "Barak" of that email is Ehud Barak, named in full in the office's next schedule. Groff's schedule email of June 2, 2013 lists the day in full: "10:00am-12:00pm Appt w/" others "at Leon Black's office", then "12:00pm Lunch w/Ehud Barak & Bob Kerrey", then a tentative appointment with Reid Weingarten.⁷⁸ On June 3 Groff asked Epstein: "What do you want for lunch tomorrow w/Barak & Bob Kerrey at noon?" and he answered "Chicken parm".⁷⁹ A calendar alert that day reads "do we want to move the lunch to 1pm tomorrow? Can Barak do it? Shall I ask Bob Kerrey?"⁸⁰ At 8:02 pm on June 3, Groff having asked whether Kerrey could come to the house "at 1:30 instead of 12:00", Kerrey wrote: "I am afraid not. Sorry. Rain check?"⁸¹ On June 4 Groff wrote to Kerrey's scheduler that "Bob emailed me back stating he can't make 1:30 lunch today and asked for a rain check", and the scheduler answered: "Indeed Bob won't be able to make it and thank you so much for clarification. I hope we can find other dates in the near future for the three to meet."⁸² The same office's schedules list "Appt w/Ehud Barak" at 4:00 pm the previous day, with Mort Zuckerman at 6:00 pm, and the final schedule for June 4 lists "Appt w/Ehud Barak" at 1:00 pm followed by "Lunch to be served", without Kerrey's name.⁸³

Epstein wrote to Kerrey on July 22, 2013: "how is the summer going so far? are you planing on new york at all." and offered "most of august if you would like to come vist," at Santa Fe. Kerrey replied on July 23: "The summer is going fast. We purchased a coop on lower Fifth and are experiencing the joy of moving. We'll be in NY most of August. I would love to come to Santa Fe but the prospects are not good. I hope all is well with you."⁸⁴ On July 26 the educator Roger Schank wrote to Epstein under the subject "minerva project": "am to meet bob kerrey (who I know) monday", "ran into kosslyn wed who is also involved" and "now I see your buddy summers on it". Epstein replied: "i know about it, i think it nuts, i like kerry alot. as you know he lost part of his leg in vietnam , and when i asked him about his wife, he said , as soon as i met her she swept me off my foot. from that moment i knew." He then asked: "he and kosslyn are only init for the money nu?" and Schank answered: "He has enough I would have thought (Maybe not Steve)".⁸⁵ On July 31 Epstein asked Schank: "how did bob kerrey , meeting go." Schank replied: "Good guy".⁸⁶ A LinkedIn notice to Epstein on July 30 reports that Kerrey accepted his invitation and lists him as "President at New School University", and a LinkedIn update of August 12 reports that "Bob Kerrey is now Executive Chairman at The Minerva Institute".⁸⁷⁸⁸

On August 22, 2013 a calendar alert asked "can bob Kerrey join for dinner tonight."⁸⁹ Groff's email to Kerrey that afternoon invited him to dinner at 7:30 and added: "Leon Botstein will be coming also..." (the president of Bard College, Leon Botstein). Kerrey replied: "Unfortunately, I cannot come. I am out on Shelter Island. Thanks."⁹⁰ On September 11 Epstein's office asked Kerrey's scheduler whether he would be in New York September 20 through 22; Groff advised the sender to "email him and cc the assistant. He seems to answer before she does...", and a one-line note to Epstein that day reads "Bob kerrey will be out of town".⁹¹

On July 19, 2014 Kerrey wrote to Epstein under the subject "Visit": "It was good being with you again. The book I mentioned is Ari Shavit's "My Promised Land". I think you will like it. I hope we can get together again. You are very good company !" Epstein answered on July 20: "I always enjoy the time, Im in santa fe for two to three weeks if you would like to visit. or if you are in aspen i will send plane for you."⁹²

On September 2, 2014 Epstein's scheduler wrote to Kerrey: "Jeffrey is having Peter Thiel and possibly Bill Burns for lunch at his home in NY on Sat. Sept 13th and Sun. Sept. 14th...Jeffrey is asking if you might be available to join..." Kerrey answered, copying his new executive assistant: "I think both work but let me double check with Jen!"⁹³ The assistant's signature block reads Allen & Company, 711 Fifth Avenue, and Kerrey's own emails of September 2014 carry that company's e-mail monitoring notice.⁹⁴ On September 9 Epstein wrote to Peter Thiel: "if you choose we can bring in kathy ruemmler. former obama counsel for 5 years. and or sen Bob kerrey, former senate intellignece".⁹⁵ On September 10 he sent Thiel a schedule: "2 pm one on one you and I , 3 -4 bill burns to join. i will need alone time with him after. 730 woody and kathy ruemmler for dinner ( again you can bring guest/s if you choose). sunday lunch with bob kerrey if you have interest or we can continue our one on one". Thiel replied on September 12: "Free from about 5pm onwards on Saturday... Sunday lunch with Kerrey would be great."⁹⁶

The scheduler's September 12 note to Kerrey's assistant asked: "could Senator Kerry come for lunch on Sunday Sept. 14th at 12:30?" and, when the assistant asked who would attend, a reminder in Epstein's calendar read "did you want to give Bob Kerrey any other names for lunch on Sunday? We told him Peter Thiel (Kathy Ruemmler and Cass are attending as well)". Epstein answered "tell him".⁹⁷ On September 13 Epstein wrote to Kathryn Ruemmler: "yes with bob kerrey and petr thiel".⁹⁸ The meal was moved to 11 am: Groff wrote to Epstein "Yes! Bob Kerrey can come at 11am for brunch tomorrow." and then "I confirmed with Kathy Ruemmler and Bob Kerrey...did you want me to reach out to Thiel's assistants re 11am brunch tomorrow?"⁹⁹ The scheduler confirmed to Kerrey's assistant that "Jeffrey will see Bob tomorrow at 11am. Same address."¹⁰⁰ On the night of September 13 Epstein told Ruemmler that "peter will not make it tomorw", and on September 14 wrote to her: "why don't you come at 10 casss and kerrey arrive 11?"¹⁰¹

On September 15 Epstein wrote to Kosslyn, then dean of the Minerva School of Arts and Sciences: "met with kerrey, too used to not being questioned properly". Kosslyn answered "You surprised?" and Epstein continued: "he tried to describe minerva to cass sunstein, total fluff, but did say you had rasied 100 m with the condition that if students didn't come the money would be returned????" Kosslyn replied: "???... I know nothing about that condition, and have no idea where he got that idea.. But maybe he knows something I don't know."¹⁰² Kerrey wrote to Epstein on September 16: "Thanks for a wonderful brunch and another great conversation. I hope to see you again soon." Epstein replied "likewise." and asked: "you said that steve had raised 100 million . to be returned if students didn't enroll, could you tell me more?" Kerrey answered: "He has not closed the round yet but has very strong interest that will enable him to close. He will not lower standards to bring in the first large class in 2015 and will return unspent money from the second round if we fail to recruit at the standard we have set." Epstein forwarded the exchange to Kosslyn.¹⁰³

On September 28, 2014 Epstein wrote to Kerrey: "boris nikolic really enjoyed your meeting". Kerrey replied that night: "He's first rate. Are you gong to invest in his fund? When is our next encounter?" On September 29 Epstein asked: "what was your candid view of fund? kept in confidence". Kerrey wrote on September 30: "I believe Boris has the intellect and experience to separate the scientific wheat from the chaff but I do not know if he or his team can separate the leaders who can take a great idea and make it profitable from those who cannot. My understanding if that Bill Gates track record in this space is not very good."¹⁰⁴ The Boris of the exchange is Boris Nikolic, named in full in Epstein's first message.

The Minerva Institute

Kerrey was named executive chairman of The Minerva Institute for Research and Scholarship on January 14, 2013, when the company announced the Institute as a non-profit body to "reinforce Minerva's commitment to offer exceptional educational experiences to deserving students and enable the advancement of faculty research."¹⁰⁵ The release describes Kerrey as "President Emeritus" of the New School, where he "served as president of the university from 2001 to 2010," and says that in 2011 he joined the Minerva Project's advisory board.¹⁰⁵ Kerrey is quoted in the release: "I believe the Minerva Project is the single most important innovation in higher education in my lifetime."¹⁰⁵ The same release names Larry Summers as "chairman of Minerva's Advisory Board" and states that Minerva "will not rely on the federal government for assistance."¹⁰⁵

The company's release of April 4, 2012 had already listed Kerrey, "Formerly President of the New School, Senator and Governor of Nebraska, and Medal of Honor-winning Navy SEAL," on the advisory board with Patrick Harker and Lee Shulman under Summers as chairman, and quotes him: "I believe that it is the single most important innovation in higher education in my lifetime."¹⁰⁶ On November 11, 2014 the Institute, "led by Executive Chairman Bob Kerrey," announced the appointment of Stacey Childress and Michael Horn to its board.¹⁰⁷ Minerva's Institute page of 2021 lists Kerrey as chairman, and its 2023 Board of Trustees page lists him as chair emeritus; Yiming Zhang of ByteDance is listed as a board member on both.¹⁰⁸ An undated Minerva overview in the Epstein files lists the advisory board as including Harker, Kerrey and Shulman.⁴⁹

Later career

Kerrey served on the board of Tenet Healthcare from March 2001 to March 2012. Tenet's proxy statement of August 2001 lists him as a director on its ethics, quality and compliance and nominating committees and states that he sat on the boards of infoUSA, class.com and the Concord Coalition, and on the board of trustees of The Aerospace Corporation; the 2002 proxy adds Jones Apparel Group.⁴ Tenet announced his return on November 30, 2012, as an independent director on its audit and compensation committees. Its chief executive Trevor Fetter said: "His wisdom and insight have been invaluable to Tenet's board through the years."²⁰

Genworth Financial's 2005 proxy statement lists Kerrey as a director since 2004 and a member of its audit committee, and gives his Jones Apparel and Tenet directorships. He resigned from the Genworth board effective March 14, 2012, "in order to pursue his campaign for the United States Senate representing the state of Nebraska," according to the company's filing.¹⁹¹⁰⁹

Kerrey ran for the Senate seat in 2012 against the Republican state senator Deb Fischer. As early returns came in on November 6, 2012, Fischer's lead grew "to a 58 to 42 percent margin as the evening wore on."¹¹⁰ The Federal Election Commission's candidate totals for Kerrey's 2012 Senate committee show receipts of $5,798,058 and disbursements of $5,662,682.¹¹¹

In April 2013 Kerrey joined the government affairs firm Carmen Group. The Hill reported on April 22, 2013 that the firm had earned $7.3 million in lobbying fees the previous year, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, that many of its clients were state and local entities or governments, and quoted the firm's founder, David Carmen, as saying Kerrey "has a wealth of experience in business, education and public service at the state and federal level." Kerrey said in a statement: "I have known David Carmen for more than ten years."¹¹²

Kerrey was under contract to serve as president emeritus of the New School through 2016. He resigned that post in February 2013, calling the decision "largely mutual."¹¹³

In May 2016 Kerrey was named chairman of the board of trustees of Fulbright University Vietnam, a university promoted by the Trust for University Innovation in Vietnam. Thomas J. Vallely, the trust's chairman, called him "the ideal candidate for the job." Asia Times reported that the appointment was reportedly made on May 16, and that it angered some people in Vietnam after the online news outlet Zing published a story on Kerrey's role at Thanh Phong on May 30. Barack Obama, speaking in Ho Chi Minh City on May 25, called Kerrey "one of the key people to help lead" the project. In a piece published by Zing on June 1, the former Vietnamese ambassador to the European Union and Belgium, Ton Nu Thi Ninh, wrote that she was "extremely stunned" by the decision.¹¹⁴