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From: Lawrence Krauss < Sent: Monday, December 11, 2017 6:35 PM To: Peter Aldhous Cc: Lawrence Krauss Subject: Re: URGENT: BuzzFeed News inquiry re allegations of sexual harassment Importance: High Hello=Peter. I am currently on a plane. I sent you earlier from =he plane an email response to your letter, which I hope you received. =nbsp; Regarding your note below: My earlier remark to you =as based on my correspondence with the universities during and after =he investigation, and the conclusion I drew from the ANU report, which = quoted for you in my response to your note. The claims made in the =llegation which were later demonstrated to be false, or which were then =ot supported after repeated requests from the University to =ubstantiate the claim, provided evidence that the claim was fabricated =as I knew it must be), and therefore maliciously so. I had been planning on =esigning my honorary appointment at ANU before I received the original =etter from ANU because my wife had moved to the US several years ago, =nd I no longer visited the University regularly to work with colleagues =here as I did in earlier years. When I received the letter from =NU regarding the complaint, I decided to wait to resign my appointment =ntil the investigation was completed and the complaint was dismissed. =nbsp;After it was, I sent my note of resignation in, and I note that =pon its receipt the Dean he suggested I remain on until my appointment =xpired at the end of this year, but as I had made my decision to resign =arlier I felt no need to wait until then. I received a very nice =ote from the director of the unit I work with (who was made aware of =he complaint and its resolution by the Dean) who expressed thanks for =y many contributions to the University while there, and my interactions =ith staff, students, and faculty there. I hope this clarifies your =ssues. LM K On Dec =1, 2017, at 9:02 AM, Peter Aldhous < > wrote: Dr. =rauss, Since sending the note below, we have heard =rom the Australian National University. They informed us: "The characterisation by Professor Krauss that The Australian National University (ANU) found the complaint to be =E2 unsubstantiated and fabricated with malicious intent' is false." They also told us that you resigned your honorary appointment at ANU on November 3. Can you comment on the reason for your resignation from ANU? I would welcome the opportunity to discuss this with you. Again, we are planning on publishing our story Tuesday morning, =astern US Time. Please provide any comments =ou wish us to consider before then. Sincerely, EFTA_R1_01704691 EFTA02549457 Peter Aldhous On 12/10/17 5:12 PM, Peter Aldhous wrote: Or. Krauss: As you know, I'm a reporter for BuzzFeed News who has =een investigating sexual misconduct allegations against you. As we'=e already discussed by email, I'd very much like to interview =ou about these allegations in detail. In particular, you stated in an email sent on Nov 13 that two =niversities had investigated an incident (# 6 below). You claimed that =/span>"both Universities independently concluded that the =eport was unsubstantiated and fabricated with malicious intent." =e are not aware that either university concluded fabrication or =alicious intent, so if you have evidence to support this assertion, we =ould like to see and discuss it. The story concerns your actions towards students while a =rofessor of physics at Case Western Reserve University, as well as your =onduct in non-academic settings as a prominent figure in the skeptics =ovement. I am reporting this story along with two of my colleagues on =he science desk, Azeen Ghorayshi and Virginia Hughes. Our story is about several allegations of sexual misconduct =ating from 2006 to 2016 (see full details below). Our reporting also =oes into how the various institutions you have been affiliated with =94 Case Western, Arizona State University, the Australian National =niversity, the New College of the Humanities, and the Center for =nquiry, for which you serve as an honorary member of the board of =irectors — have handled complaints and concerns about your =ehavior during this time. Our story is corroborated by emails, university documents, =fficial complaints, testimony from victims and eyewitnesses, and =nterviews with more than two dozen of your current and former academic =olleagues, students, and peers in the skeptics movement. I wanted to offer you the opportunity to comment and/or =espond to the main facts we plan to publish. If you wish to comment on =ny of the below findings, we need to hear from you as soon as =ossible. We are planning on publishing our story Tuesday morning, =astern US Time. Based on our reporting, this is what we plan to =ublish: Incident 1: • In November of 2006, at an event launching the new Center for =nquiry in Washington D.C., you met a volunteer for CFI D.C. =/span> At the event, you asked for her business card. Later, you =ollowed her as she was leaving and asked her if she was "of =ge." 2 EFTA_R1_01704692 EFTA02549458 Later, you emailed her to invite her to dinner. You planned to dine with her in the restaurant at the Washington =.C. hotel where you were staying. You told her to come up to =our room first because you needed to finish some work. In your hotel room, you =eemed in no rush to leave. You ordered a cheese plate, and later =hampagne, despite her suggestion that you go down to dinner. =/span> You then made a comment about her eye makeup, getting very close to =er face. You then lifted her by her arms, and pushed her onto the bed =eneath you, forcibly kissing her and trying to pull down the crotch of =er tights. She struggled to push you off her. You said, "When I was in college I could never get a =irl that looked like you." When you pulled out a condom, she got out from under you. She =aid "I have to go," and rushed out of the room. =/span> Incident 2: In an incident that occurred in fall of 2007 while you were a =hysics professor at Case Western Reserve University, a student tried to talk to =ou about her plans after graduation. You mentioned to her how tough it =ust be to have all the other physics majors asking her out on dates. =/span> In a second incident in =ecember of 2007, while you were still at Case Western, the same student =isited your office to interview you for a student science journal. You =losed the door behind her, and ignored the questions she had prepared. =hen you made a casual comment about taking her out for =inner. later, in a regular column for the school paper, she =escribed her experiences with you, without mentioning you by name. =E2 There was even one particular creep of a professor who once =old me he thought differently of me compared to other students and =sked me to dinner: a situation so disturbing that it left me upset for =eeks afterward," she wrote. She was then approached by a dean at the university, who =uspected that she was referring to you, based on a previously reported =ncident with another student. He encouraged her to make a complaint, =nd she did. University investigators interviewed both you and the =tudent. On September 4, 2008, Susan Nickel-Schindewolf, the =niversity's associate vice president for student affairs, wrote =o the student, telling her that the investigation was complete. She =rote that you had been told: "This type of behavior could =onstitute sexual harassment in violation of the university's =exual harassment policy." The letter also stated that you were prohibited from making =ontact with the student as long as she remained at Case. x 3 EFTA_R1_01704693 EFTA02549459 The letter also stated that you are required to get approval =rom the dean or the chair of the physics department before setting foot =n the campus again. The letter also stated, "Dr. Krauss expressed regret =bout having a negative impact on you, and also his willingness to use =his complaint as an opportunity to reflect and improve on his future =nteractions with students." By then, you had already left Case, taking up your current =osition at Arizona State University the month before. "The opportunities being offered at ASU are simply =oo great to turn down at this stage in my career," you told =ase colleagues, in an email announcing your departure on April 16, =008. Incident 3: A former Case Western physics department administrator =onfirmed that she had reported a previous incident involving a student =ho had confided in her about your inappropriate behavior towards =er. Incident 4: You met a student from another university, an atheist =ctivist, in March 2008 at the American Atheists Convention in =inneapolis. She wanted to expand the atheist group she ran at the =idwestern university she was attending, and hoped to convince you to =ome and speak. You initially seemed enthusiastic. During the convention, attendees including you and Richard =awkins went for dinner with the student and volunteers for Dawkins'=foundation. Afterwards, the student invited you to join the volunteers =or a drink. You asked her to come get you in your hotel room. She was =ary of your intentions, and so brought a male friend with her. Opening =he door to find them both there, you informed her you had decided not =o go. You met this student again at the American Atheists =onvention in Des Moines, Iowa, in April 2011. You pulled over a chair for =er in the bar, and then started running your hand up her leg under the =able. She tried to shift her body =way from you, and you persisted in putting your hand on her leg. She =rossed her legs, and you kept trying. Then she turned her entire body =way. Incident 5: This incident allegedly occurred on in May 2011 on a =/span>CFI =ruise <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnrio8B-IKxE> . We understand that CFI staff were informed that you had 4 EFTA_R1_01704694 EFTA02549460 =ropositioned a female cruise•goer, who rejected an invitation to join =ou and your female companion for sex in your cabin. At least two CFI staffers were sufficiently concerned about =eports of your behavior that they urged CFI's president not to =nvite you on a 2014 cruise of the Galapagos Islands. You were invited on that cruise, =owever. Incident 6: During a visit to Melbourne, Australia, in November 2016, you were =ccused of sexual misconduct once again. The incident happened at a =inner held at the Melbourne Zoo as part of the Australian =keptics National Convention, where you were a featured =peaker. With conference delegates =hatting over drinks, a woman asked you for a celebrity =elfie. As the woman held out her =hone to take the picture, you reached over her shoulder and grabbed her =ight breast. She immediately reacted, =odychecking you and spinning around. "Don't do that, =9D she said. BuzzFeed News has seen the =omplaint made by another woman to ASU, ANU, and the New College of the =umanities in London, including the selfie, her face obscured to conceal =er identity. It shows your hand in motion as a blur in front of her =houlder, apparently moving toward her chest. Two other eyewitnesses =ave confirmed the complainant's account of what =appened. In April 2017, the =omplainant described the incident on her blog. After hearing more about =our reputation for inappropriate behavior from blog readers, she =ecided to file a complaint about the Nov. 2016 incident. On July 16, she filed =ormal complaints with Arizona State University, and with the Australian =ational University in Canberra and the New College of the Humanities in =ondon, where you have visiting appointments. Both Arizona State and the =ustralian National University told her they would look into the matter. =ut neither university found against you. "Based on the =aterial available to the University, we do not have sufficient evidence =o substantiate the allegations," Kiaran Kirk, dean of the =ollege of Science at the Australian National University, wrote to her. =/span> Erin Ellison, who heads =rizona State's Office of Equity & Inclusion, wrote to her =xplaining that an inquiry "did not find a violation of =niversity policy." In October, Arizona State =enied a request from BuzzFeed News for documents relating to complaints =f sexual harassment against you. However, Cynthia Jewett, the =niversity's senior associate general counsel, noted that =/span>two individuals, neither affiliated with the university, had =omplained about you. "The University did not find either =ommunication to state a credible allegation," Jewett =rote. 5 EFTA_R1_01704695 EFTA02549461 Miscellaneous =acts: In 2008, you founded the Origins =roject at Arizona State University in Tempe, a multidisciplinary =ffort to understand the origins of the universe, =ife, and social systems. You have led that effort ever =ince. Thanks to best-selling =ooks like The Physics of Star Trek and A Universe From =othing, frequent essays in publications including the New Yorker and the New York Times, and the documentary you =ade with biologist Richard Dawkins, called The Unbelievers, you are celebrated as one =f America's leading public intellectuals. You served on the science =olicy committee for Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign =nd are a vocal critic of President Donald Trump. You also make regular =ublic appearances across the world, often at gatherings of skeptics and =theists. At CSICon in Las Vegas in October, a few dozen fans paid $500 per head =o attend a VIP luncheon with you and Dawkins. Many more lined up to get =ou to sign their copy of your latest book, The Greatest Story Ever =old — So Far. Online, people can =/span>buy =-shirts emblazoned "Lawrence Krauss for =resident." In talks and interviews, =ou have argued that our universe arose without divine intervention, =hat religion drives xenophobia, and that our brains are =/span>hardwired to believe <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDhHK8nk_VO> . You have stated that science provides answers to many of =ife's biggest questions, and can even fix great societal =njustices. Earlier this year, at a Q&A =vent to promote your new book, the conversation came around to =he dearth of women and minorities in science. "Science itself =vercomes misogyny and prejudice and bias," you said. "It =80 s built in: Questioning yourself, always questioning results, =uestioning others, relying on empirical evidence." You have clashed with some =keptics over your defense of Jeffrey Epstein, a billionaire financier =ho in 2008 was convicted for soliciting prostitution from underage =irls, and spent 13 months in a Florida jail. Through his private =oundation, Epstein has funded the work of several prominent scientists. =e has provided funding for your Origins Project, supporting lectureship =nd scholarship programs, most recently pledging $100,000 in =014. In April 2011, you =/span>told the Daily Beast: "As=a scientist I always judge things on empirical evidence and he always =as women ages 19 to 23 around him, but I've never seen anything =Ise, so as a scientist, my presumption is that whatever the problems =ere I would believe him over other people." In a blog comment about the Epstein controversy, you wrote: =E2 I remain skeptical, and I support a man whose character I =elieve I know...lf you want to condemn me for that, so be =t." You were made an honorary member of CFI's board of =irectors in December 2011. 6 EFTA_R1_01704696 EFTA02549462 A blog post published in =ugust 2013 described incidents #1 and #4, naming you. Another post, =ublished at around the same time, described incident #5. • The first post was edited =o remove your name after you had commented that the allegations of =ssault were "potentially illegal." The second post was =uickly taken down. Again, if you wish to comment on or clarify any of these =oints, please get in touch with us as soon as possible. If l do not =espond immediately it is because I am on another call, so please leave =he best phone number to reach you. Thanks, Peter Aldhous =/span> Peter Aldhous, PhD Science reporter I BuzzFeed News Peter Aldhous, PhD Science reporter BuzzFeed News <=r class=" Lawrence M. =rauss Director, The Origins Project at ASU Co-Director, Cosmology Initiative Foundation Professor School of Earth & Space Exploration and Physics =epartment Arizona State University, Assistant (Jessica): Origins Office (Cynthia): > =nbsp; <mailto 7 EFTA_R1_01704697 EFTA02549463 8 EFTA_R1_01704698 EFTA02549464