Jeffrey Epstein helped Woody Allen and Soon-Yi Previn as one of their daughters was applying to colleges, connecting the family with the president of Bard College, a long time acquaintance of Mr. Epstein, emails released by the Justice Department show.
The Bard president, Leon Botstein, agreed to help, and the couple’s daughter Bechet Allen ended up attending Bard College, graduating in May 2021, according to her LinkedIn account.
“I can’t thank you enough for getting Bechet into Bard,” a message to Mr. Epstein dated Jan. 11, 2017 said. The message is from the account of Woody Allen, but appears to be written by Ms. Previn, who mentions Mr. Allen in the note.
Betchet Allen did not appear to know that her family was seeking help for her application. “I think it’s best that Bechet struggles and doesn’t know ahead of time that she got in so that when she gets into Bard she will have sweated it out a bit and will really want to go,” the sender added. “Thank you for coming through for us. Woody said when Bechet sets fire to the school they’ll have you to thank.”
Mr. Allen and Ms. Previn did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent through a spokeswoman. Bechet Allen also did not respond to separate messages.
In a statement, Dr. Botstein said that Mr. Epstein was “a serial liar who apparently took credit for the sun rising each day.”
“The applicant referenced in the emails was accepted on the merits of her own qualifications for admission,” Dr. Botstein said. “Bard had already provided a welcome community for two previous family members, and no introduction was needed from the likes of Epstein.”
Bard College admits more than half of its applicants.
Dr. Botstein said that he “often reassures anxious parents and families navigating the admissions process, and responds to scores of requests each year for tours or admissions conversations from alumni, supporters, and people in the broader community, as he has done through fifty years.”
He added, “The only difference here is Epstein’s apparent effort to convince a family that his voice was of consequence.”
The emails were among about three million pages of documents collected by the Justice Department as part of its yearslong investigation into Mr. Epstein, who died by suicide in jail in 2019, and released late last month. The documents include new details about the relationship of prominent figures, among them President Trump and Bill Clinton, and Mr. Epstein. Already, previously released documents showed how Mr. Epstein wielded his influence and connections in higher education, maintaining friendships with influential academics like Larry Summers, the former president of Harvard, for years.
Mr. Epstein had known Dr. Botstein, the longtime president of Bard, for years. In interviews with The New York Times in 2023, Dr. Botstein, an energetic fund-raiser, said he was trying to woo Mr. Epstein to donate to his school. Keeping his small liberal arts college afloat often meant seeking cash from unsavory donors, he told The Times in 2023. “Capitalism is a rough system,” he said at the time.
The exchanges about Ms. Allen’s interest in Bard occurred in 2016. In early November, Mr. Epstein emailed Dr. Botstein, saying that Bechet Allen was considering Bard and asking that he coordinate a trip with Ms. Previn. The same day, Ms. Previn wrote to the president: “Thank you so much for your offer to help our daughter, Bechet Allen, get into Bard College. I will take you up on the offer.;)”
Dr. Botstein said that he would be “delighted to help” and scheduled a visit.
Two months later, Ms. Allen emailed Dr. Botstein to say Bard was her first choice, an email that Ms. Previn forwarded to Mr. Epstein. Dr. Botstein said he would pass along her sentiment to the admissions committee.
The next day, shortly after Mr. Epstein instructed the couple to call Dr. Botstein, the couple sent their effusive thank-you note to Mr. Epstein.
Vimal Patel writes about higher education for The Times with a focus on speech and campus culture.
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