WASHINGTON
They are titans of their fields: Nobel laureates, best-selling authors, pioneering scientists, and at least one university president.
For years, a who’s who of American academia orbited Jeffrey Epstein, maintaining relationships with the convicted sex offender well after his crimes came to light.
Now, facing a wave of scrutiny following a massive new document dump from the Justice Department, many are offering a blunt and uniform explanation: it was about the money.
“Epstein had money to give, and we needed it,” is the common refrain from scholars whose chummy emails and social visits with the disgraced financier have suddenly become public.
The trove of files reveals an academic entanglement far deeper than previously understood. Dozens of researchers are shown exchanging warm, familiar messages with Epstein, leaning on him to bankroll their projects.
They sent him gifts, visited him in New York and Florida, and in some cases, offered sympathy as he faced escalating fallout from his sex crimes.
The conversations captured in the emails span a wide range—from serious discussions about scientific research to personal exchanges touching on sex and romance.
The fallout is already mounting. At least one scholar has resigned in the wake of the revelations.
Yale University has removed another from teaching duties while it conducts a review of his conduct, signaling that for some, the association with Epstein is proving to be a reputational liability no amount of research funding can offset.
By James Kisoo
