Bard College president exits as Epstein ties draw scrutiny

Leon Botstein announced on Friday that he is stepping down as the longtime president of Bard College amid scrutiny over his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Botstein wrote in an email obtained by The Associated Press that he would retire at the end of June, ending his decades-long tenure at the helm of the New York liberal arts college.  

The email did not mention the scrutiny related to Epstein, except to note that he waited to announce his exit publicly until an independent review of his relationship with the disgraced financier was completed, according to the outlet.

“Nothing that President Botstein did in connection with his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein wasillegal, but President Botstein made decisions in the course of that relationship that reflect on hisleadership of Bard,” the law firm WilmerHale wrote to Bard’s Board of Trustees in a Thursday memo with its findings.

Botstein will reportedly remain on Bard’s faculty as a teacher and musician.

Botstein has not been accused of any criminal wrongdoing, but documents released by the Justice Department showed the pair maintained a closer relationship than previously known.

The two men met on multiple occasions and Botstein asked Epstein to be a guest at the school’s graduation ceremonies in 2013.........

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