Botstein Quits Bard Amid Epstein Investigation Calls

Published: 08 October 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online

Leon Botstein has resigned from all positions at Bard College after Democratic lawmakers called for a criminal investigation into his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and raised questions about an email allegedly sent by the longtime academic to the convicted sex offender concerning a young woman.

The resignation marks a dramatic development for Botstein, who led Bard College as president for five decades before stepping down from the presidency earlier this year. His departure from his remaining roles came after congressional investigators brought renewed attention to communications contained in the Epstein files and urged federal authorities to examine allegations involving the former college president.

Jamie Raskin, the senior Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, and fellow Democratic lawmaker Madeleine Dean have written to Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel calling for an investigation. They said material reviewed by congressional investigators appears to meet the threshold for opening a criminal inquiry into Botstein and potentially others connected to Epstein.

The lawmakers’ concerns centre on a 2014 email involving a young foreign model and aspiring singer whom they identify as Jane Doe. According to the congressional letter, Epstein had been cultivating a relationship with the woman while presenting himself as someone who could assist with her education and ambitions in the United States.

Investigators, however, allege that the relationship was instead part of Epstein’s broader pattern of sexual exploitation. They say records indicate that the woman was pressured into activities including sex education and massage courses and was allegedly exploited while being moved between different locations.

The Democratic lawmakers further allege that Epstein used his connection to Botstein to give the woman the impression that she could develop a successful musical career.

In May 2014, Epstein arranged for the woman to meet Botstein, ostensibly so that the academic could assess her musical abilities. Congressional investigators say they reviewed an email that was originally redacted in Department of Justice records and was sent from an account associated with Bard’s presidency.

The email, according to the lawmakers, asked whether the woman was intended for Botstein or whether Epstein was keeping her for himself.

Raskin and Dean described the message as startling and argued that the material available to federal authorities warranted a criminal investigation. They questioned why the Justice Department and FBI had apparently possessed relevant information for an extended period without investigating Botstein.

Botstein has strongly rejected the allegations. He has denied knowing about or participating in Epstein’s criminal conduct and disputed the claim that he authored or sent the email highlighted by the lawmakers.

He said the allegations were untrue and argued that he did not want accusations, even those he considered false, to place Bard College at risk or distract the institution from its work.

Bard’s board of trustees has responded by saying it is conducting a full review of the allegations raised in the congressional correspondence. Board chairman Brandon Weber said the college was cooperating with the congressional investigation and that the board’s executive committee unanimously accepted Botstein’s resignation.

The resignation also ends Botstein’s remaining formal associations with Bard, including his professorship and positions connected with the college’s music programmes.

The controversy follows months of scrutiny over Botstein’s longstanding relationship with Epstein. Documents released as part of the wider investigation into Epstein’s activities revealed that the two men maintained a close relationship over several years.

Botstein had previously acknowledged interactions with Epstein but faced questions over the extent of their relationship and what he knew about Epstein’s conduct. Epstein had already been convicted of a sex offence before many of the interactions under scrutiny took place.

An independent review commissioned by Bard’s board earlier this year examined Botstein’s contacts with Epstein and concluded that the frequency and nature of their interactions could have alerted Botstein to the possibility that he and the college were facilitating Epstein’s abuse of women.

The review found that Botstein had visited Epstein’s New York townhouse approximately 25 times. It also documented a two-day visit to Epstein’s private island and visits by Epstein to Bard.

The investigation reported that some of those encounters involved multiple women who were later identified as victims of Epstein.

The findings contributed to Botstein’s decision to leave the Bard presidency in May. At the time, however, Botstein maintained that he had not knowingly participated in Epstein’s criminal behaviour and had previously rejected suggestions that he should have understood the full extent of Epstein’s activities.

The latest congressional allegations have brought renewed attention to the 2014 email. Bard had previously been asked about the message and denied that it had any connection to Botstein or the college. At the time, the email appeared in redacted Epstein records and seemed to have been forwarded by Epstein to himself.

The circumstances surrounding the message have now become a central part of the lawmakers’ demand for a federal investigation.

The congressional inquiry is also examining allegations extending beyond Botstein’s relationship with Epstein. Raskin and other Democratic investigators say they have received information from more than a dozen whistleblowers alleging decades of sexual misconduct at Bard.

Those allegations have not been established as fact, and Bard has emphasised the procedures governing sexual harassment and assault complaints at the institution.

The college’s board said that when a formal complaint involving sexual harassment or assault is submitted, an independent external investigator conducts the review before a report is provided to an impartial hearing chair. Bard also said that the college president has not possessed unilateral authority over Title IX investigations or adjudications since the 2015-16 academic year.

The institutional response comes as Bard faces the challenge of separating its current governance structures from questions about decisions and relationships during Botstein’s exceptionally long presidency.

Botstein became one of the most influential figures in American higher education during his five decades at Bard. His departure therefore represents more than the end of a professional association. It closes an extraordinary chapter in the history of an institution now confronting difficult questions about leadership, accountability and its relationship with one of the most notorious figures in the Epstein scandal.

Botstein has not been charged with wrongdoing in connection with his relationship with Epstein. The two men remained in contact from 2012 until Epstein’s death in 2019 while Epstein was facing federal sex-trafficking charges.

The latest allegations are therefore part of an ongoing investigation rather than a finding of criminal responsibility. Whether federal authorities will open a formal criminal case remains to be seen.

For Raskin and other congressional investigators, however, the issue is whether the available evidence deserves scrutiny by prosecutors and federal investigators. Their letter argues that the material they have reviewed raises questions that should not be left unanswered.

For Bard, Botstein’s resignation may provide a degree of institutional distance from the controversy, but it does not end the questions surrounding his relationship with Epstein or the wider allegations being examined by Congress.

The investigation now moves into a potentially consequential phase, with federal authorities facing calls to determine whether the communications and other records provide sufficient evidence for further action.

As the scrutiny continues, the central distinction remains important: allegations contained in congressional correspondence and investigative records are not equivalent to criminal findings. Botstein has denied the accusations, has not been charged in relation to his association with Epstein, and disputes the authenticity and authorship of the email at the centre of the latest controversy.