Bard College president tells staff he will soon be cleared in inquiry over Epstein ties

WilmerHale, the law firm examining Leon Botstein’s communications with Jeffrey Epstein, said review is ‘ongoing’

Bard College’s president, Leon Botstein, told his staff at a meeting this week that there was no way he could have known that Jeffrey Epstein – who was a convicted sex offender during their interactions over the years – was actually “reprehensible” and predicted he would soon be cleared of any hint of impropriety about their relationship, according to sources who witnessed the remarks.

The liberal arts college’s board of trustees hired in February the white-shoe law firm WilmerHale to independently investigate communications between Epstein and Botstein.