House Dems Expand Epstein Investigation to Bard, Harvard

U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to Harvard University and Bard College on June 17 seeking information into their relationships with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. 

Both institutions have carried out their own internal reviews of their connections with the late financier—Harvard in 2008 and 2020 and Bard earlier this year. But in a statement, Raskin said both investigations “failed to fully uncover or address the extent of Epstein’s influence” and how the relationships he had with both institutions may have enabled his abuse. 

In a letter to the former chairman of the Board of Trustees at Bard College, James Cox Chambers, Raskin said the investigation by law firm WilmerHale into Bard President Leon Botstein’s communications with Epstein was “too narrowly tailored” and “does not address several other searching and pressing questions.” 

One matter missing in the summary of the WilmerHale investigation, Raskin writes, is Epstein’s influence on admissions at Bard’s Smolny College in St. Petersburg, Russia. Raskin’s letter references a message exchange revealed in the Department of Justice’s Epstein files between Botstein and Epstein discussing one victim’s admission to a dual-enrollment program that would eventually lead to her coming to the United States.

Among the requests for more information, Raskin asked Bard to submit records of communication between the college and Epstein, a list of total payments and gifts from Epstein, and the full report from the WilmerHale investigation. 

In a separate letter addressed to Harvard President Alan Garber, Raskin said Harvard’s connection to Epstein “ran far deeper” than the institution’s own investigations uncovered. “This extensive and multi-layered connection with a known child sex predator invites more serious examination of Mr. Epstein’s success at laundering his reputation through association with Harvard and the potential harms of his presence and influence on Harvard’s campus for more than 20 years until his 2019 arrest,” it said. 

Raskin’s requests included communication and financial records related to Epstein’s relationships with Harvard faculty, including Martin Nowak, who led the Program for Evolutionary Dynamics. The letter also asks Harvard to submit records of Epstein’s donations to the institution, anything related to his influence on its admissions office and the records of students or staff raising concerns about the university’s relationship with Epstein. 

Representatives for Bard and Harvard told The Wall Street Journal that they received the letters. A spokesperson said Bard is reviewing the letter. Harvard is conducting another review of its own ties to Epstein. 

In January, Raskin sent similar letters to Linda Mills, the president of New York University, and Claire Shipman, the acting president of Columbia University, requesting information into how Epstein might have secured admission into the institutions for his victims and paid for their tuition.