Bard president Leon Botstein stepping down after inquiry into his Epstein ties
Source: The Guardian
Fri 1 May 2026 17.52 EDT
Last modified on Fri 1 May 2026 17.54 EDT
Leon Botstein has announced he is stepping down from the helm of Bard College, after an independent review of his contacts with Jeffrey Epstein found the college presidents frequent interactions with the convicted sex offender could have alerted him to the possibility that he and Bard would be facilitating Epsteins abuse of women.
An investigation by the WilmerHale law firm, which had been commissioned by Bards board of trustees earlier this year to review Botsteins interactions with Epstein, found the Bard president who had previously claimed he was not friends with Epstein made about 25 visits to Epsteins townhouse, a two-day visit to Epsteins Little St James Island, and that there were two visits by Epstein to Bard. These visits, WilmerHale reported, included multiple women who have since been identified as victims of Epstein.
Epstein and Botstein, who has not been charged with wrongdoing in connection with his relationship with the accused sex trafficker, were in contact from 2012 to 2019.
The WilmerHale review also suggested that Botstein had been warned by a senior faculty member that he should not engage with Epstein, who the president was courting as a donor to the college. The report by Wilmer Hale found that instead of heeding that apparent warning, Botstein relied on the view that an ordinary sex offender like Epstein could be presumed to be rehabilitated, since he had served time in prison. Botstein forcefully argued, Wilmer Hale said, that Bards need for funds was paramount. His view was, I would take money from Satan if it permitted me to do Gods work, the report stated.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/01/president-bard-college-resign-leon-botstein-jeffrey-epstein
REFERENCES
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143619066
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143626902
Deuxcents
(27,467 posts)UpInArms
(55,197 posts)What an evil person.
I hope he burns in whatever hell he believes in.
Seinan Sensei
(1,613 posts)Attributed to William Booth,
founder of The Salvation Army.
BlueWaveNeverEnd
(14,784 posts)"who had previously claimed he was not friends with Epstein made about 25 visits to Epsteins townhouse, a two-day visit to Epsteins Little St James Island, and that there were two visits by Epstein to Bard. These visits, WilmerHale reported, included multiple women who have since been identified as victims of Epstein."
He is another customer, creep of epstein..abuser of women
erronis
(24,254 posts)Not saying it doesn't exist in women, but men seem to lose all executive function when tempted.
I'll guess that there those so far named are only 10% of those influenced by Epstein.
And that most of the others would react similarly if approached.
Sad commentary on my subset of humanity.
jfz9580m
(17,619 posts)If you are human at some point you will have said something that someone somewhere if you scour the web enough can pretend has bigoted or asshole subtext.
Even when Greta Thunberg attacked Andrew Tate - the clearest case of which side to pick- I saw someone on Mastodon attack Thunberg for her joke.
Thats useful idiocy everyone worries about.
If MLK had had digital media some asshole would find something.
So the average flawed human whose data is now held hostage has insecurities that these guys who do seriously creepy shit can exploit.
The number of useless things I worried about given that this is everywhere with all human hypocrisies and contradictions caught as I wondered why I am in this hell, before I realized, Oh it is all the weed.
Paul Ehrlich used to be maligned endlessly and now all the Chomsky boys have to contend with his friendship with Epstein. But they just gloss over that and start attempting bullying again. And I like Bernie. But I understand now why Paul Krugman was angered at being attacked.
Yeah fuck that. I am not getting taken hostage by surveillance creeps over weed.
I was never cool with that mobbing stuff. Too close to bullying however righteous. I dislike lots of people whom I just avoid. Unless they come into my home, onto my devices or my street. Then its a mutual hostage situation!
Except I didnt start it.
Life must be hard for the unprincipled wrt figuring out which rules it is okay to throw asay over faking concern that someone gets super high in their own room.
But it is deeply misogynistic because I am lucky that my vice was just getting wasted a lot. It is far ickier and that is disproportionately shitty on women and most women are not indecent enough when they work in these shit fields to take men hostage over porn.
These guys are stupid.
I find it helpful when the reliable left breaks me free of orthodoxies - I dont care about the mob. But I would not kowtow to a bully. But you dont want the quiet people who dont say much to feel hurt especially when they dont have that much power.
Left and bullying dont mix.
The pugnacious lefty goes it alone. I can respect that. In fact I am even trying to emulate that. It is not a natural fit.
You might like Yasha Levine erronis. He is very funny.
I think that is why Orwell defended Wodehouse:
He doesnt like bullies. A vegan lady friend of mine said that in a diff context. None of it engineered or by design.
It is all complicated. But science I understand.
You may like Quanta Magazine and Current Affairs. They kept me sane.
And I am going to try to emulate Skittles and kick peoples asses!
generalbetrayus
(1,948 posts)Fagen may have to rewrite the line from "My Old School", "Oh. no, William and Mary won't do now", to say "Oh, no, Bard College won't do now."
eggplant
(4,223 posts)He will remain on faculty with free on-campus housing. He'll keep all of his other music activities. He denied everything until the report came out, then shrugged it off without so much as an apology.
He deserves to be kicked to the curb. For cause.
jfz9580m
(17,619 posts)Good riddance creep..