Ethics violations taint UMD student election seeking to oust Epstein-connected regent

Both slates in recent University of Maryland student elections were disqualified for ethics violations, delaying results for a referendum seeking to oust a regent whose name appeared in the Department of Justice’s released files on sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The removal of the political parties Justice UMD and Roll Terps from the ballot has upended the March 28-29 vote.

Illicit campaigning before the election disqualified Justice UMD, which is appealing the violation. Roll Terps has already lost an appeal of a finding that it tried to collude with the other party to fix the outcome.

The Student Government Association is deciding whether enough candidates remain to avoid restaging the election.

Neither scenario affects the symbolic measure calling for the resignation of system regent Tom McMillen, a former Maryland Democratic congressman and Terrapins basketball star whose name appeared in Justice Department files on Epstein two months ago.

“The results are being held up until the conclusion of all violation proceedings,” Louis Mancuso, the student government’s chief of staff and a sophomore accounting major, told The Washington Times.

Additionally, undergraduates voted last month on referendums calling on the state’s flagship school to end all ties to Israel and declare College Park a sanctuary campus for illegal immigrants evading the Trump administration’s deportations.

All three measures were introduced to send a message to school officials, who ignored student government resolutions calling for the same policies.

A university spokesperson referred questions about the vote to the student government on Thursday, describing it as an “independent body” that monitors its own elections.

“Potential violations [of] election rules are brought to a student-run election commission and, in some cases, a governance board made up of students,” the university said in a statement. “The SGA is best suited to comment on the election, possible violations, and outcomes.”

Mr. Mancuso confirmed that a governance board appointed by the student body president was looking into the violations.

Justice UMD ran on a ticket asking the university to keep immigration officials off campus and renounce all connections to Israel, continuing the current student government’s policies.

Mr. Mancuso said Justice UMD could still win an appeal, letting it keep the votes it garnered.

The Roll Terps party is accused of trying to make deals with Justice UMD to influence the election by deciding who ran for what.

Roll Terps supported sanctuary-jurisdiction status but did not make a statement on Israel. Additionally, their candidates campaigned on demanding the removal of Mike Locksley as head football coach because of his 37-49 record at Maryland.

Mr. Mancuso said the governance board rejected an appeal from Roll Terps. As a result, either Justice UMD will succeed in its appeal and win the election or lose the appeal and trigger a special election this fall.

Overall, students voted for three executive positions and 26 legislative seats. Only two independent candidates ran for office, meaning they could automatically win their seats if the governance board upholds Justice UMD’s disqualification.

One referendum on the ballot asked students: “Do you call upon the University System of Maryland Board of Regents and the leadership of the University of Maryland to demand the resignation of USM Regent Tom McMillen in light of documented communications with Jeffrey Epstein?”

Mr. McMillen chaired the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports during the Clinton administration. Emails and flight logs in the Justice Department files show that he maintained contact with Epstein from that period until five years after the financier pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting a minor. Epstein died in 2019.

 

In a February interview with The Baltimore Sun, Mr. McMillen dismissed a 2013 text message to Epstein as a “blow-off,” even though he previously claimed they hadn’t spoken since the 1990s.

This week, he declined to comment on the delayed voting results but referred to a statement he published before the election.

“As I have consistently stated, my interactions with Epstein were brief, incidental, and occurred decades ago,” Mr. McMillen told the student government and his fellow regents in the statement.

The last day of classes is May 8. An inauguration dinner and reception for the new student government is scheduled for April 27.

“Having an inauguration may not be necessary for only two people,” Mr. Mancuso said, referring to the two independent candidates who were not disqualified.