Deep dives into the Department of Justice’s latest trove of Epstein File documents have revealed the names of more academics who corresponded with Jeffrey Epstein, the late financier charged with soliciting prostitution of a minor in 2008 and who was arrested again 11 years later for sex trafficking minors.
Some professors’ emails with Epstein were infrequent and largely impersonal, but others reveal years-long friendships with the sex offender, which sometimes included stays at his properties, visits to his private island and regular chatter about scholarly research. None of the higher education figures included here have been implicated in any of Epstein’s criminal activities, but they did maintain correspondence with him after his 2008 conviction.
Inside Higher Ed analyzed more of the correspondence of frequently mentioned higher education figures in the latest Epstein file drop. All quotes are reproduced verbatim.
A search for Martin Nowak, math and biology professor at Harvard University, returns more than 4,000 documents in the Justice Department database. His association with Epstein was already well known; in 2021, Harvard sanctioned Nowak for his relationship with Epstein. Those sanctions were lifted in 2023. Nowak emailed frequently with Epstein for many years and stayed several times at his apartment in New York City. In a 2009 email, Epstein’s long-time assistant Lesley Groff confirmed Nowak’s trip to visit Epstein in late July. “Jeffrey said your dates work great and that you may have use of an available apartment of his as well as the Jaguar,” Groff wrote.
