Bard hires top law firm to investigate links between college president and Epstein
Source: The Guardian
Thu 19 Feb 2026 18.52 EST
Last modified on Thu 19 Feb 2026 20.20 EST
Bard College’s board of trustees has retained the outside law firm of WilmerHale to conduct an independent investigation into communications between Jeffrey Epstein and the college’s longtime president Leon Botstein.
WilmerHale will conduct an “independent review” of the “full scope of these communications”, financial contributions connected to Epstein, and any related matters, the board said in an announcement on Thursday evening. Once complete, the board said the law firm would also make recommendations to the board regarding policies and practices on donor vetting, fundraising, codes of conduct, and conflicts of interest.
The announcement follows new revelations about Botstein’s dealings with Epstein, which have emerged in emails and other communications released by the Department of Justice, including a trip the college president took to Epstein’s island in 2012.
The hiring of a major US law firm to investigate claims around Epstein suggests trustees have come under pressure to respond to the new revelations.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/19/bard-college-wilmerhale-leon-botstein
On a related sidenote - 45 went after WilmerHale (among others), they did NOT bend the knee and sued instead... and a court struck down 45's attack on them as "unconstitutional".
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