US

‘Unfairly Admitted’: Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s Husband Reportedly Helped Underqualified Student Get Into College, Audit Says

No featured image available

Democratic California Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s husband was reportedly named by the state auditor as someone who helped an underqualified student gain entry into college, according to The Mercury News.

A state audit of colleges’ admissions processes said that 64 students were “unfairly admitted” from 2013 – 2019 to four California universities, including the University of California Berkeley “based on their personal or family connections to donors and university staff.” Richard Blum, Feinstein’s husband, was identified by California State Auditor’s office spokeswoman Margarita Fernandez as one individual who allegedly aided an underqualified student by writing a letter of recommendation directly to the institution’s chancellor, according to The Mercury News.

“This is the first time I’ve heard that maybe I did something that wasn’t right,” Blum said, according to The Mercury News. “I think it’s a bunch of nonsense.”

Blum said in an interview that he has recommended students to various UC campuses for years but didn’t think that had any sway in their applications, according to the Mercury News. Blum also added that he does not remember the specific instance the audit references.

UC Regent Richard Blum wrote an “inappropriate letter of support” to help a student get into UC Berkeley despite the applicant’s uncompetitive ratings by university staff and an initial denial of admission, according to the state auditor’s office.https://t.co/VyeQPYpGHR

— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) September 24, 2020

Blum has served on the UC Board of Regents since 2002, according to the UC website.

Feinstein’s office declined to further comment on the matter to the Daily Caller News Foundation.

“Regarding any specific allegation in the report, we need to see the underlying documents that led to the auditor’s findings to determine what, in fact, occurred,” UC Berkeley Senior Director of Strategic Communications Janet Gilmore told the DCNF.

“We are still awaiting the underlying documents from the auditor and consequently are not in a position to weigh in on the matter at this time,” she continued.