Jeffrey Epstein: “Im on island. wife of Bowden pres,, in trouble”

“Im on island. wife of Bowden pres,, in trouble”

From: Jeffrey Epstein — To: Jes Staley ’79 P ’11 — October 24, 2010 at 11:41 AM (EFTA01300789)

"wife of Bowden pres" refers to Karen Mills, former Administrator of the Small Business Administration under President Obama from 2009 to 2013.

“I just landed after visiting Alexa at college. I will call this afternoon to catch up. Enjoy the island.”

From: Jes Staley — To: Jeffrey Epstein — October 24, 2010 at 6:22 PM

“As a trustee of Bowdoin College, he helped install as president Clayton S. Rose, a longtime friend who was seen as an unconventional candidate because he didn’t have tenure and had spent 20 years in banking before starting a second career in academia.”

Source: The New York Times, 2017

“Wiggins said in her accompanying witness statement that when she travelled with Staley on a trip to his alma mater Bowdoin College in 2019, where he was trying to reassure the board of trustees over his ties to Epstein, she was not aware the sex offender had been invited to the graduation of Staley’s daughter in 2015.”

Source: The Financial Times, 2025

“i want to talk to sen mitchell tomorrow.”

From: Jeffrey Epstein — To: [Redacted] — October 25, 2010 at 1:25 AM

"sen mitchell" likely refers to Senator George Mitchell ’54 H’83.

“I just tried calling. The ME news seems to fit a pattern.”

From: Jes Staley — To: Jeffrey Epstein — October 20, 2010 at 9:03 PM

“Surprisee surprise.”

From: Jeffrey Epstein — To: Jes Staley — March 23, 2011 at 4:26 PM

“Thanks”

From: Jes Staley — To: Jeffrey Epstein — March 23, 2011 at 12:21 PM

Fwd:

"Against all odds, we have been granted a meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu."

From: Roy Navon — To: Jacob Frenkel and Jes Staley — March 23, 2011 at 12:00 PM

“please send your brothers email address,, boris would like to meet up with him re african american gays”

From: Jeffrey Epstein — To: Jes Staley — July 20, 2011 at 10:10 PM (re: Peter Staley and Boris Nikolic)

“But more importantly, I write this because Alexa and I know what you did to allow her to follow her dreams.”

From: Jes Staley — To: Jeffrey Epstein — March 24, 2013 at 7:11 PM

“It seems like Alexa had a fantastic time in Vancouver. Thanks my friend. She is a pretty cute physicist, no.”

From: Jes Staley — To: Jeffrey Epstein — March 20, 2014 at 3:31 PM

“Fwd: Alexa was just fantastic!!! Smart, clear and her project sounds incredible. […] So good to see you in NYC.”

From: Karen Mills — To: Jes Staley, Cc: Barry Mills — April 24, 2015 at 4:45 PM

“There is a link and password below. This is what you helped to make happen.”

From: Jes Staley — To: Jeffrey Epstein — April 25, 2015 at 11:43 PM

“Epstein instructed [redacted] to provide a massage to Jes Staley in Epstein’s New York residence. [Redacted] attempted to give him an ordinary massage, but he forced [redacted] to touch his genitals and then raped [redacted].”

Source: United States Department of Justice memorandum, recollection of events alleged “in or around 2011 or 2012,” released January 2026; first reported by The Guardian and Bloomberg, February 4–6, 2026

TIMELINE:

1992

Glenn Dubin and Henry Swieca founded Highbridge Capital Management.

1998

Jeffrey Epstein introduced Jes Staley to Glenn Dubin at Highbridge.

March 2004

Staley wrote a memo to JPMorgan executives proposing the Highbridge acquisition, citing Epstein as a “founding investor” and the reason JPMorgan had access to the deal.

Late 2004

JPMorgan acquired a majority stake in Highbridge for $1.3 billion, and Epstein received a $15 million fee for brokering the deal.

2007–2010

Clayton Rose served as Chairman of the Board of Managers of Highbridge Capital Management.

2007–2021

Staley served as a Bowdoin College trustee, chairing the Investment Committee from at least 2007 to 2014.

2008

Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor.

August 2010

An internal note to Epstein, recovered in the January 2026 DOJ release, recorded that “George Mitchell returned your phone call.”

October 24, 2010

Epstein wrote to Staley, “Im on island. wife of Bowden pres, in trouble,” referring to Karen Mills, then Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration and wife of Bowdoin President Barry Mills.

October 25, 2010

Epstein wrote, “i want to talk to sen mitchell tomorrow,” dated the day after he had alerted Staley about Karen Mills.

2011–2012

According to a memorandum released in the January 2026 DOJ disclosure, an unnamed woman alleges that Epstein instructed her to give Staley a massage at his New York residence, during which Staley forced her to touch his genitals and raped her. A separate set of allegations describes bloody marks left on the arms of a woman Staley referred to as “tinkerbell.” Staley has previously denied wrongdoing, and there is no public evidence that prosecutors brought charges.

2012

Lawsuits filed in 2023 allege Highbridge’s private jet was used to transport children for Epstein’s sex trafficking operation.

2012

Staley was named “successor executor” of Epstein’s estate.

February 2013

An email scheduling discussion among Epstein staff referenced a possible lunch with Bill Gates and Senator Mitchell.

2013

Staley left JPMorgan and was promoted to “co-executor” of Epstein’s estate.

November 2013

A calendar reference recorded an appointment with Senator George Mitchell.

April 2014

When Bowdoin President Barry Mills announced his departure, Staley chaired the presidential search committee.

2015

“As a trustee of Bowdoin College, [Staley] helped install as president Clayton S. Rose, a longtime friend who was seen as an unconventional candidate because he didn’t have tenure and had spent 20 years in banking before starting a second career in academia.” (NYT, 2017)

2015

Staley invited Epstein to his daughter Alexa’s Columbia graduation.

September 2019

Bowdoin reviewed Staley’s Epstein relationship and decided he should remain a trustee, with Clayton Rose stating that Staley represented “all that is great about Bowdoin and the culture and the values here.”

November 2021

Staley resigned from Barclays after receiving the FCA’s preliminary conclusions and departed Bowdoin’s board around the same period.

2023

Clayton Rose issued his first apology regarding Staley, stating he was “clearly wrong,” after additional Staley-Epstein communications were released publicly.

January 2026

The Department of Justice released a corpus of Epstein materials including the Staley rape memorandum and additional Staley-Epstein correspondence.

February 1, 2026

The US-Ireland Alliance removed Senator George Mitchell’s name from its George J. Mitchell Scholarship program.

February 2, 2026

Queen’s University Belfast removed Mitchell’s name from its Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice and removed his bust from the building.

February 4–6, 2026

The Guardian and Bloomberg first reported on the DOJ memorandum recording the rape allegation against Staley.

February 5, 2026

Mitchell resigned as honorary chair of the Mitchell Institute, which accepted the resignation in early February.

February 12, 2026

The University of Maine announced it was considering removing Mitchell’s name from the George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions and from a Mitchell-named scholarship.

February 25, 2026

Larry Summers announced he would resign his teaching appointments at Harvard at the end of the academic year and would relinquish his University Professorship; Harvard opened a review of his Epstein ties, and he had previously stepped down from the OpenAI board.

March 9, 2026

The Waterville school board voted to remove Mitchell’s name from George J. Mitchell Elementary School, reverting the building to its prior name, Brookside Elementary.

March 13, 2026

Deborah Staley filed for divorce from Jes Staley in New York.

Today

Bowdoin College has not renamed its George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives.