The billionaire pedophile whose mysterious death has sparked controversy and multiple investigations into its shady circumstances was also linked to multiple universities, including MIT and Harvard.
After weeks of keeping their silence, Harvard has finally acknowledged that they received a whopping $8.9 million total from Epstein!
Take a look at the breaking update to the Epstein saga as it unfolds:
CBS News has more on Harvard's connections to Epstein:
Harvard University said an internal review found that late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein gave $8.9 million to the school. The money was donated before Epstein's 2008 conviction for crimes involving girls and young women, Harvard University president Lawrence Bacow wrote in a letter published Thursday.
About $186,000 remains of Epstein's donation, which Harvard said will be redirected to organizations that support victims of sexual assault and human trafficking, crimes that Epstein had been accused of before his death by suicide in July.
Bacow added that the university is creating a group to examine how donors are vetted and reviewed. Since Epstein's death, details of his financial support for top universities and scientists have come under scrutiny, with critics pointing out that his donations provided a convicted criminal with a veneer of respectability.
"Epstein's behavior, not just at Harvard, but elsewhere, raises significant questions about how institutions like ours review and vet donors," Bacow wrote. "I will be convening a group here at Harvard to review how we prevent these situations in the future."
To be sure, the world of university philanthropy isn't known for its choosiness. In some cases, controversy around donations has arisen years after the original gift.
Reuters also said:
Harvard University expressed remorse on Friday for accepting millions of dollars in gifts from Jeffrey Epstein in the years before his 2008 sex crimes conviction and said it regretted its association with the disgraced financier.
Harvard President Lawrence Bacow said Esptein donated about $9 million to the university between 1998 and 2007, before Esptein pleaded guilty to prostitution charges in 2008. Harvard said it knowingly rejected a gift from Epstein in 2008 following his conviction, but that its internal review is still ongoing.
“Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes were repulsive and reprehensible,” Bacow said in a letter addressed the university community. “I profoundly regret Harvard’s past association with him.”
The university’s statement came a day after revelations that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology had accepted gifts from Epstein after his Florida conviction on prostitution so long as the donations remained anonymous.
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