Leon Botstein resigns from Bard roles as key Democrat demands investigation into Epstein links

Leon Botstein has quit every post he held at Bard College, including his professorship and his music-program duties, after Representative Jamie Raskin pressed for a criminal inquiry into his dealings with Jeffrey Epstein. Botstein ran the school for 50 years and had only recently left the presidency. Bard's board chairman, Brandon Weber, said the executive committee unanimously accepted the resignation and that the college is conducting a full review while cooperating with Raskin's committee, according to The Guardian.

Raskin, the ranking Democrat on the House judiciary committee, and Representative Madeleine Dean sent a letter to Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel. They say unredacted Epstein files show a young foreign model and singer, called Jane Doe, was groomed and trafficked by Epstein during 2014. After he sent her to meet Botstein that May, the lawmakers say, a Bard account sent Epstein an email asking whether she was meant for Botstein or for Epstein himself. They contend the evidence warrants a federal investigation that the Justice Department and FBI have left untouched for at least 18 months. They also cite more than a dozen whistleblowers alleging long-running misconduct at Bard.

Summarized by PolitiKool from The Guardian’s reporting. Read the full story at The Guardian →