Senator George Mitchell and the website for a center named after him; Mitchelle Institute; University of Maine
Former Maine senator and Democratic majority leader’s name appears more than 300 times in Epstein files
The University of Maine will strip former Senator George Mitchell’s name off of campus buildings and a scholarship due to his ties to sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The board of trustees voted on Monday to punish Mitchell, a former Democratic majority leader, despite no evidence of wrongdoing.
“A spokesperson for Mitchell said the former senator denies having any knowledge of Epstein engaging in illegal or inappropriate conduct with underage girls,” WMTW 8reported.
A task force previously said Mitchell did not commit any crimes, but that “public trust” could be harmed by his name renaming on one building and one scholarship.
The task forcereported:
While no findings of wrongdoing by Senator Mitchell have been made, in light of the material that has recently been made public by the U.S. Department of Justice, and mindful of the experiences of victims and survivors, the task force concludes that continued use of Senator Mitchell’s name would compromise the public trust and reflect adversely upon the university and its reputation.
A spokesperson said “the University of Maine Center for Sustainability Solutions will be the temporary new name of the research and engagement center at the flagship campus in Orono,” WMTW reported. “In addition, the prestigious award that supports student exchange between Maine’s public universities and Ireland is being renamed the University of Maine Peace Scholarship.”
Other institutions have cancelled the 93-year-old former senator and diplomat.
WMTW reported:
Mitchell’sofficial portrait was removedfrom the walls of the Maine State House on Feb. 27. The Maine Senate President’s Office told Maine’s Total Coverage that the Epstein files were a factor in the decision to remove the portrait. The Mitchell portrait wasunveiled in January 2014in the Hall of Flags, alongside portraits of other Mainers, including former Sens. Margaret Chase and Edmund Muskie.
On March 9, the Waterville School Board voted toremove Mitchell’s name from an elementary schoolin the city. The school has gone back to its original name of Brookside Elementary.
The release of the “Epstein files” in January of this year has triggered numerous cancel campaigns against academics and university donors.
Yale University placed a computer science professor on leave afteran emailto Epstein surfaced where the academic referred to a student as a “[good looking] blonde.”
