\n
After apologizing that he \u201cdid not get this out sooner,\u201d because he wanted to be thorough, Attia insisted that he is not one of the individuals in the Epstein files who \u201cparticipated in criminal activity, enabled it, or witnessed it. I am not in any of those categories, and there is no evidence to the contrary.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n To be clear:
1. I was not involved in any criminal activity.
2. My interactions with Epstein had nothing to do with his sexual abuse or exploitation of anyone.
3. I was never on his plane, never on his island, and never present at any sex parties.<\/span><\/p>\nThat said, I apologize and regret putting myself in a position where emails, some of them embarrassing, tasteless, and indefensible, are now public, and that is on me. I accept that reality and the humiliation that comes with it.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n
Attia then addressed an email exchange with Epstein with the subject line \u201cGot a fresh shipment,\u201d that included a photo of metformin, \u201ca medication I had just received from the pharmacy for my own use.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
The subject line referred to the picture of the bottles of medication, but Epstein responded with the words \u201cme too\u201d and a photo of an adult woman.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
\u201cI responded with crude, tasteless banter. Reading that exchange now is very embarrassing, and I will not defend it,\u201d Attia said. \u201cI\u2019m ashamed of myself for everything about this. At the time, I understood this exchange as juvenile, not a reference to anything dark or harmful.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Attia claimed that at the moment he met Epstein, he hadn\u2019t been around that level of prominence, and admitted, \u201cthat level of access was novel to me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
\nEverything about him seemed excessive and exclusive, including the fact that he lived in the largest home in all of Manhattan, owned a Boeing 727, and hosted parties with the most powerful and prominent leaders in business and politics.<\/span><\/p>\nI treated that access as something to be quiet about rather than discussed freely with others. One line in that exchange, about his life being outrageous and me not being able to tell anyone, is being interpreted as awareness of wrongdoing.<\/span><\/p>\nThat is not how I meant it at all. What I was referring to, poorly and flippantly, was the discretion commanded by those social and professional circles\u2013the idea that you don\u2019t talk about who you meet, the dinners you attend and the power and influence of the people in those settings. <\/span><\/p>\nWhat I wrote in that email reads terribly, and I own that.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n
Attia said that he met Epstein in 2014 while raising funds for scientific research, and said the financier \u201cwas widely known in academic and philanthropic circles as a funder of science and moved openly among credible institutions and public figures.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
He also admitted he met with Epstein in New York seven or eight times between the summer of 2014 and spring of 2019, but \u201cI never visited his island or ranch, and I never flew on any of his planes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Attia claims being surrounded by so many high-profile people led him \u201cto make assumptions about him that clouded my judgment in ways it shouldn\u2019t have.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Although Attia directly asked Epstein about the 2008 conviction shortly after they met, Epstein minimized the prostitution-related charges.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
He also insists he never witnessed any illegal behavior or any underage people while around Epstein, but was \u201crepulsed by what he learned\u201d after reading a Miami Herald expose in 2018.
<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Attia said he told Epstein to his face that he \u201cneeded to accept responsibility for what he did,\u201d and claims he tried to get Epstein to pay for residential care and lifelong therapy for his victims.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
\u201cIn hindsight, even attempting to facilitate accountability was a mistake and, once again, reflected just how naive I was at the time. <\/span>Once the full scope of his actions was clear, disengagement should have been the only appropriate response,\u201d he wrote.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Although Attia insisted he didn\u2019t want \u201ca pass\u201d from his followers, and he wasn\u2019t asking for people to ignore his emails, or defend his actions. but said, \u201cthe man I am today roughly ten years later, would not write them and would not associate with Epstein at all.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n