Leon Botstein Resigns From All Positions at Bard College Following Congressmen Call for Federal Investigation
By Francisco Salazar Operawire
Leon Botstein has resigned from his remaining positions at Bard College.
According to the school’s Board of Trustees, he would be “resigning immediately from all Bard-affiliated positions, including his professorship and roles with The Orchestra Now and other music programs.”
The news came after Congressmen Jamie Raskin and Madeleine Dean called for a federal investigation into Botstein after uncovering an email in which Botstein asked Epstein if a young woman was available “for me, or are you keeping her for yourself.”
Additionally, Congressman Raskin sent a letter to Bard leaders suggesting that Botstein “likely enabled and possibly even participated in Epstein’s abuse while serving as Bard’s President, as well as deeply troubling whistleblower reports that Botstein used his influence on Bard’s campus to influence Title IX proceedings and protect sexual predators on the Bard faculty.”
In his resignation letter, Botstein denied any wrongdoing and said, “any assertion that I knew of or was involved in Epstein’s criminal behavior is wrong. But I do not want to see even false allegations about me put the institution I have served for more than half a century put at any risk.”
Meanwhile, Brandon Weber, the chair of Bard College’s board of trustees, said in a statement that the college had received additional communications from Congressman Raskin and said that Bard would be undertaking “a full review” of the allegations. Additionally, Webber noted it would cooperate with the Judiciary Committee’s investigation.
The news comes after Botstein stepped down as President of Bard College in May after it was discovered that he had contact with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. According to a search from OperaWire, Botstein appeared in thousands of emails regarding meetings with Epstein that traced back to 2012, years after Epstein had pleaded guilty to one count of “Felony Solicitation of Prostitution” and one count of “Procuring Person under 18 for Prostitution” and was already a registered as a Sexual Offender.
The two met on a number of occasions as Botstein allegedly sought donations for the college.
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