WilmerHale, July 23 -- once the Epstein question attaches itself to an institution, a clean legal finding is not the same as a clean slate.

the foundation made no payments to convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and participated in no criminal activities connected to his network. The investigation involved interviews with 50 current and former staff members and concentrated on two documented periods of contact between the foundation and Epstein, spanning 2011 to 2014.

The first concerned a proposed donor-advised fund to support global public health. Epstein brought the proposal to the foundation and it was considered seriously enough to persist for approximately three years. The foundation declined to pursue it, but only after Epste...