Former Senator Steps Down From Clean‑Energy Firm Over Past Email Ties

Bob Kerrey, who once led Nebraska as a U. S. senator and later served as its governor, has left the board of Monolith, a state‑based clean‑energy startup. The move follows the release of Department of Justice documents that show Kerrey met and emailed Jeffrey Epstein more than ten years ago. Kerrey confirmed his resignation via text on Wednesday, saying he stepped down because the new revelations could harm Monolith’s chances of success. He added that he would not have agreed to meet Epstein if he had known what he knows now, and offered no defense of their past interactions. Epstein, a financier who died by suicide in 2019 while under investigation for sex‑trafficking charges, had previously pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting a minor for prostitution. The emails with Kerrey were sent several years after Epstein’s 2008 conviction.Monolith focuses on producing low‑emission hydrogen and carbon black, a material used in tires and other rubber products. Kerrey had been the company’s chairman for years, but the startup has not yet responded to a request for comment. At 82, Kerrey’s career includes serving in the U. S. Senate from 1989 to 2001, a stint as Nebraska’s governor in the 1980s, and a 1992 presidential campaign. He also led New School in New York City from 2001 to 2010 before becoming president emeritus until 2013. His meeting with Epstein in 2013 came a few years after his tenure at the New School.