DOJ Files: Epstein Pulled Strings at University of Alabama

A University of Alabama administrator asked Jeffrey Epstein to help arrange a guest speaker, according to Department of Justice records reported by CBS 42.¹

The DOJ files indicate Epstein was involved in the speaker arrangement, though details about when this occurred, who at the university was involved, and the identity of the speaker have not been disclosed.¹

Alabama is among the academic institutions whose Epstein connections have surfaced since the Epstein Transparency Act mandated the release of millions of pages of documents. College presidents and professors at multiple universities have been named in the files.²

Other Academic Connections

Epstein donated $9.1 million to Harvard, where, according to a 2020 internal review, he visited campus at least 40 times after his 2008 conviction and met with faculty including Lawrence Summers and Martin Nowak.² He donated $850,000 to MIT, where Media Lab director Joi Ito resigned in 2019 over his relationship with Epstein.² Professor Seth Lloyd at MIT received a $225,000 personal grant from Epstein.²

The Alabama connection indicates Epstein’s institutional contacts extended beyond the coastal universities where he was most active as a donor. At Bard College, president Leon Botstein appeared in Epstein’s personal contacts, according to the New York Times.²

The University of Alabama has not publicly addressed the DOJ records.¹

Congressional Investigation

At Ohio State University, the connection runs through Les Wexner, Epstein’s only confirmed financial client and the university’s largest donor, whose name is on the Wexner Medical Center.²

Congressional investigators have called multiple figures to testify about their Epstein relationships, including billionaire Les Wexner and Lord Mandelson.³⁴

References

1. CBS 42: The Time Jeffrey Epstein Was Invited to Graduation at the University of Alabama
2. College Presidents, Professors Named in Epstein Files Fallout
3. Congress Subpoenas Wexner Over Epstein Ties
4. Congress Subpoenas Mandelson Over Epstein Ties