Raskin Slams Harvard’s Epstein Probes, Demands Records From University

Updated June 17, 2026, at 3:48 p.m.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin ’83 (D-Md.) accused Harvard of failing to fully account for its ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey E. Epstein in a Wednesday letter to Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76, giving the University two weeks to turn over records to the House Judiciary Committee.

Raskin, the ranking Democrat on the committee, wrote that members were “troubled” by the possibility that Epstein used his relationship with Harvard and other universities to traffic vulnerable young women and avoid detection.

“We are further troubled by the fact that Harvard’s prior investigations into this matter have failed to identify or address the magnitude of this corruption,” Raskin wrote.

A Harvard spokesperson confirmed the University had received Raskin’s letter and referred back to previous statements about its ongoing review of Epstein’s ties to Harvard, which was launched in November 2025.

“Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes were abhorrent and reprehensible, and the University is committed to reviewing the documents expeditiously to determine what actions may be warranted, in line with Harvard’s policies and standards of conduct,” the spokesperson wrote.

The letter criticized Harvard’s earlier reviews of Epstein’s ties to the University, writing that they failed to fully examine donations made after a 2008 ban, Epstein’s relationships with faculty members, and his potential influence over admissions and research.

Raskin wrote that Epstein’s ties to Harvard faculty members allowed him to “sanitize and shield his reputation” while advancing “different parts of his predatory criminal enterprise.”

The letter focused, in part, on Epstein’s relationship with Martin A. Nowak, a Harvard mathematics professor who received $6.5 million from Epstein to launch the Program for Evolutionary Dynamics before Epstein’s 2008 conviction. Harvard’s 2020 report found that Epstein visited Nowak’s office at least 40 times between 2010 and 2018, often with young women.

Nowak was placed on paid administrative leave in February after the Faculty of Arts and Sciences opened a formal investigation into whether he violated University policies or standards of professional conduct.

Raskin also referenced well-known ties between Epstein and former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers, former FAS dean Henry A. Rosovsky, and Harvard Law School professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz.

The letter also alleged that Epstein may have used his “sway on campus” to help applicants gain an advantage in the admissions process.

Raskin cited several instances in which Epstein appeared to offer friends and associates connections to influential Harvard faculty members and administrators — including Summers.

In one instance, Epstein drafted a recommendation letter under Summers’ name for a woman he appeared to have had a sexual relationship with and sent it to Summers for review, according to the letter. In another, Epstein encouraged billionaire Ariane de Rothschild to seek Summers’ assistance in helping her daughter get admitted.

In one email cited by Raskin, Epstein emailed physicist Lisa J. Randall ’84 asking for help in getting a contact into Harvard’s theoretical physics Ph.D. program. Randall wrote that she was not on the admissions committee but added that “of course we’re a small group and I can talk to someone.”

Randall was in regular contact with Epstein for nearly a decade, briefly visited his private island in 2014, and took a flight on his private jet on the way back from that visit. These interactions took place years after his 2008 arrest.

In multiple email threads cited by Raskin, potential applicants to Harvard Law School also asked Epstein to review their materials and essays.

“The full extent of Mr. Epstein’s direct involvement in admissions remains elusive, but these dark hints and glimpses suggest a process contaminated by his constant transactional influence and ingratiation with money, sex, and high society,” Raskin wrote.

The letter placed particular emphasis on Epstein’s relationship with Summers, who corresponded with Epstein up until the day before Epstein’s 2019 arrest. The two men discussed topics ranging from politics to Summers’ personal romantic challenges.

Summers announced in February that he would resign from his teaching appointment and relinquish his University professorship at the end of the academic year.

Raskin also noted several donations made by or through Epstein after the 2008 ban imposed by former Harvard President Drew G. Faust.

Epstein facilitated several donations by private equity mogul Leon Black to English professor Elisa F. New’s “Poetry in America” program, and Epstein himself donated at least $375,000 to the Hasty Pudding Institute between 2013 and 2019. Harvard Hillel also sought donations from Epstein in 2010 and 2011, according to documents released by the Justice Department.

Documents obtained by The Crimson and Pablo Torre Finds Out in April showed that Epstein made a $25,000 donation in 2004 to women’s athletics with a preference for women’s rugby. The gift was routed through Summers’s office and players said they were never told that Epstein was the donor.

Additional documents showed that Harvard Medical School gave Epstein an updated $75 million “active” donor rating in 2012. Neither the women’s rugby gift nor the donor rating were explicitly included in the University’s 2020 review of its ties to Epstein.

“This extensive and multi-layered connection with a known child sex predator invites more serious examination of Mr. Epstein’s success at laundering his reputation through association with Harvard, and the potential harms of his presence and influence on Harvard’s campus for more than 20 years until his 2019 arrest,” Raskin wrote.

Raskin asked Harvard to turn over records by July 1 related to Epstein’s donations, his funding of faculty research, his relationships with Harvard faculty members, and any influence he may have had in the admissions process.

The request also seeks records from Harvard faculty, staff, or students who raised concerns about the University’s ties to Epstein, as well as final or interim reports from any Harvard investigation or review of Epstein’s ties to the University.

—Staff writer Hugo C. Chiasson can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal at hcc.35. Follow him on X @HugoChiassonn.

—Staff writer Elise A. Spenner can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal at elisespenner.82. Follow her on X @EliseSpenner.