AUGUSTA, Maine — The Bowdoin College president who described a trustee who was friends with Jeffrey Epstein as representing “all that is great about Bowdoin” now says he was “clearly wrong” since new details have come to light in a lawsuit.
Newly unredacted portions of a lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase show that some of the emails traded between former Bowdoin Trustee James “Jes” Staley and Jeffrey Epstein include sexual content and photos of young women.
Staley, a trustee from 2007 to 2021, led the liberal arts college’s presidential search, resulting in the hiring of current President Clayton Rose.
Bowdoin investigated Staley’s relationship with Epstein after Epstein’s arrest for federal sex trafficking charges in 2019, and decided Staley should remain on the the college Board of Trustees. That same year, about a month before Epstein’s arrest, Rose had introduced Staley at an event, saying he “represents all that is great about Bowdoin and the culture and values here.”
In 2021, Staley resigned from Bowdoin’s board the same day he stepped down as CEO of London-based Barclays Bank.
Rose changed his opinion after the emails from 2009 and 2010 that were revealed in federal court indicate that Staley described his relationship with Epstein as “profound,” and that the two exchanged sexual content and photos of young women and referred to women as Disney characters like Snow White.
In a letter to the Bowdoin community, Rose described those emails as “deeply disturbing” and said that he didn’t understand the depth of Staley’s relationship with Epstein. “I was clearly wrong,” he said.
Staley once managed Epstein’s finances and previously said his last contact with Epstein was in 2015. Staley’s attorney declined comment on Monday.
Staley is not a party to the lawsuit brought by the U.S. Virgin Islands against his former employer, accusing J.P. Morgan of helping Epstein exploit women and girls. Staley was a former executive at both J.P. Morgan and Barclays.
