Washington. The documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, gradually released by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) – including millions of pages of emails, photos, videos, and investigation files from the years 2025 and 2026 – document close contacts of the convicted sex offender with prominent scientists and elite universities. The releases followed the Epstein Files Transparency Act and do not contain new evidence of criminal offenses by the individuals mentioned, but they do raise questions about funding, access, and ethical boundaries.
Epstein donated over $9 million to Harvard before his 2008 conviction, including $6.5 million to the Program for Evolutionary Dynamics under Martin Nowak. After the conviction, Harvard no longer accepted direct donations, but Epstein facilitated an additional $9.5 million from third parties. Nowak granted Epstein unrestricted campus access and his own office; he was sanctioned in 2021.
At MIT, Epstein received over $850,000 after 2008, primarily for the Media Lab ($525,000) and Professor Seth Lloyd ($225,000). Joi Ito, former Media Lab director, concealed the origin of some funds and resigned in 2019.
Other scientists mentioned in the documents include:
- Noam Chomsky (MIT): Correspondence and meetings until 2015/2016.
- Lawrence Krauss (formerly Arizona State): Dozens of emails, Epstein assisted with crisis communication.
- Lisa Randall (Harvard): Long-term contact, flight on Epstein's jet.
- Nathan Wolfe (formerly Stanford): Emails about interns and research.
- Corina Tarnita (Princeton): Contacts since student days.
- George Church (Harvard): Meetings and possible facilitation of donations.
- Nicholas Christakis (Yale): Correspondence 2013–2016.
The documents show no involvement in Epstein's crimes, but they document ongoing contacts and financial entanglements even after 2008. Epstein used his connections to penetrate scientific circles.
Verified sources (as of February 2026):
- https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/epstein-files-show-a-complicated-relationship-with-science-and-journalism/
- https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-00388-0
- https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/jeffrey-epstein-emails-reveal-ties-to-prominent-scientists
- https://www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty-issues/2026/02/05/even-more-higher-ed-names-epstein-files
- https://ogc.harvard.edu/file_url/208 (Harvard-Bericht 2020)
- https://facultygovernance.mit.edu/sites/default/files/20200121GoodwinProcterReport.pdf (MIT-Bericht 2020)
- https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2020/5/2/harvard-concludes-epstein-review/
