❓WHAT HAPPENED: Jay Lefkowitz, known for once securing a lenient deal for sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, is now negotiating on behalf of Columbia University to restore its federal funding.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Jay Lefkowitz, Columbia University, and the federal government under the Trump Administration.

📍WHEN & WHERE: Current negotiations following actions against Columbia by the Trump Administration, including a suspension of $400M in federal grants.

🎯IMPACT: Potential restoration of hundreds of millions in federal funding and protection of Columbia’s accreditation and tax-exempt status.

Jay Lefkowitz, the lawyer who once helped carve out a sweetheart deal for sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, is now orchestrating another behind-the-scenes maneuver—this time on behalf of Columbia University, The National Pulse has learned.

Sources tell The National Pulse that Lefkowitz has outplayed federal negotiators in the Trump administration and is on the verge of finalizing an agreement with the U.S. government to rescue the far-left college from the brink of financial disaster. This involves restoring over $400 million in suspended federal grants and preserving its tax-exempt status and accreditation, even as the university faces accusations of civil rights violations and internal bigotry against both Trump supporters and Jewish students.

Lefkowitz’s name is infamous among legal and political observers. In 2007, while a partner at Kirkland & Ellis, he helped broker a non-prosecution deal with then-U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta that let Epstein dodge a 53-count federal indictment in Florida. The pair met at a Marriott 70 miles from the prosecutor’s office to hammer out the secret arrangement. Epstein would plead guilty to state prostitution charges, serve just 13 months with work-release perks, and—most shockingly—his victims would never be notified, a blatant violation of federal law.

When the agreement eventually surfaced a decade later, Acosta was forced to resign as Trump’s Secretary of Labor. Lefkowitz, meanwhile, doubled down—personally appealing to Manhattan authorities to minimize Epstein’s sex offender registration requirements.

In May, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services concluded that Columbia “violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act” by ignoring anti-Semitic harassment on campus. The Trump Administration responded by cutting off federal funds and moving to review Columbia’s accreditation—a potential deathblow to an Ivy League institution long viewed as untouchable.

Lefkowitz is reportedly working to scrub the damage and convince federal officials to settle. A source familiar with the negotiations said he’s “close to another miracle,” despite Columbia’s long list of controversies.

Among them:

— The university published a formal protocol instructing students and staff how to resist ICE enforcement actions;

— Internal text messages from Claire Shipman, Chair of the Board of Trustees and Acting President, show her scheming to oust a Jewish board member and “replace her with somebody from the Middle East or who is Arab.”

— Columbia’s leadership has refused to take accountability for weeks of on-campus intimidation and harassment targeting Jewish students during the Gaza-related protests.

Meanwhile, this week, the Department of Justice and the FBI attempted to close the book on the Epstein case with a curt two-page memo. It claimed there was “no client list” and reaffirmed the government’s position that Epstein died by suicide in 2019, despite widespread skepticism and a mountain of unanswered questions. The timing of that announcement, coming as Lefkowitz works his magic once again, has raised eyebrows in both legal and political circles.

Lefkowitz has historically been a major donor to ‘RINO’ Republican candidates such as Nikki Haley, Jeb Bush, and Mitt Romney. His most recent political contribution was to New York Democrat Ritchie Torres, who represents part of the Bronx neighborhood. Lefkowitz has also represented anti-Trump activist and failed magazine editor Bill Kristol.