Kerrey Blames NYT 'Bias' Following Resignation From Energy Board
by John Gage
Former Nebraska Governor Bob Kerrey blamed The New York Times for “bias” in their coverage of his connections to Jeffrey Epstein following his resignation as the chairman of the energy company Monolith.
“Well, you know, The New York Times. Sometimes they have difficulty telling a story without a bias,” Kerrey said in a Thursday podcast interview with Michael Smerconish. In another interview with The Free Press a week earlier, Kerrey also blamed The New York Times for treating him poorly.
“Let me read you this text I got yesterday from The New York Times,” he told the paper. “This is Sonia Rao. Could I get you on the phone for just two minutes, just to give you a chance to defend yourself? I’m writing an article that’s running in the Times today. I would like this article to be fair and not one-sided. Otherwise, we’d have to write it without comment from you, unless you’d like to give a statement.”
Kerrey said he felt like the text message was “a threat.”
“Sonia,” he said. “That sounds like a threat. I am not afraid of a one-sided New York Times story about me, so do what you have to do.”
The New York Times eventually ran the piece telling about Kerrey’s resignation from Monolith as a result of his meetings with Epstein between 2013 and 2014. Kerrey told the paper he would not have met with the convicted sex offender if he knew then what he knows about Epstein now.
In his Thursday podcast interview, Kerrey described Epstein as “a little bit creepy” during his 2013 meeting, “but not out of the ordinary.”
“He’s not the only wealthy person I’ve felt a little bit creepy around,” he added.
Kerrey’s connection to Epstein made headlines after a building named after him at The New School was vandalized over the revelation that he had met multiple times with Epstein. The events led to Kerrey’s resignation from Monolith, as well as at least one candidate returning Kerrey’s donation and removing his endorsement from his campaign site.
In his Free Press interview, Kerrey said he resigned from the Monolith board because he did not want to deal with panicked people.
“When the Monolith CEO and independent director called me about this, I heard panic in their voices. I do not want to work with anybody who’s going to panic over something as little as this,” he said. “So I said, ‘Gentlemen, I resign.’ I don’t want any part of it. Adios, motherf———.’”
John Gage is the executive editor of The Plains Sentinel.
