Leon Botstein Resigns From Bard Following Congressional Misconduct Allegations
Former Bard College president Leon Botstein has resigned from all institutional roles after a House committee alleged he enabled Jeffrey Epstein and engaged in campus sexual misconduct.
On Wednesday, the fifty-year tenure of Leon Botstein at Bard College effectively ended in a sudden, quiet departure. Following a half-century as president—a role he stepped down from earlier this spring—Botstein officially severed his remaining ties to the institution. The move came only after the House Judiciary Committee leveled severe accusations. alleging that the former president had not only enabled the abuses of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein but had potentially participated in them.
The investigation. led by Representative Jamie Raskin and Representative Madeleine Dean. centered on a May 2014 email sent from Botstein’s official address. In the correspondence. which committee members described as “startling. ” the sender asked Epstein if a woman he was allegedly grooming was intended “for me. or are you keeping her for yourself.” Raskin. the committee’s top Democrat. noted that constructing an innocent explanation for such a query. directed toward a known predator regarding a victim he was actively trafficking. proved difficult.
Beyond his links to Epstein. the committee’s letter to Board Chair Brandon Weber and Acting President Jonathan Becker alleged a pattern of misconduct spanning decades. The document claims Botstein engaged in the groping of women and used tenure interviews to pose sexualized questions. Furthermore. investigators accused the former president of protecting other offenders and exercising “highly irregular” personal oversight of Title IX cases—the very mechanism designed to shield students from sex-based discrimination.
Botstein, who led the college from 1975 until 2026, dismissed the findings as false. “Any assertion that I knew of or was involved in Epstein’s criminal behavior is wrong,” he stated, characterizing his resignation as a necessary measure to shield the institution from further distraction or risk.
The administrative machinery of the college now finds itself in the crosshairs of federal authorities. Board Chair Brandon Weber confirmed that Bard has initiated a “full review” of the allegations and is cooperating with the congressional probe. While Weber defended the school’s current Title IX processes. noting that the president has lacked unilateral authority over such adjudications since the 2015-2016 school year. the committee is pushing for a broader legal reckoning. Raskin and Dean have formally called on Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel to launch a serious investigation. urging federal officials to look past what they termed a potential cover-up of crimes suggested by the Epstein files.
The optics of the transition remain fraught. Even after stepping down from the presidency in the spring. Botstein had maintained his presence on campus. continuing to teach and residing in the official presidential home. The institution had reportedly been in the process of renovating an off-campus residency for his use before the congressional letter brought his long-standing influence at the college to an abrupt close.
Leon Botstein Bard College Jeffrey Epstein House Judiciary Committee Jamie Raskin sexual misconduct