🔗 Share this article

Former US treasury secretary the Harvard professor is exiting the governing body at the ChatGPT creator, just days after a series of electronic messages between him and late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein became public.

Summers commented in a statement that he was "thankful for the opportunity to have contributed, excited about the promise of the company, and look forward tracking their progress".

The former Harvard president, who previously led Harvard University, declared on Monday that he would be stepping back from public responsibilities due to his association with the convicted sex offender.

Digital Correspondence

The freshly disclosed communications revealed that the official communicated with Jeffrey Epstein until the 24 hours preceding Epstein's 2019 detention for alleged trafficking of young people.

In a separate statement, the AI firm stated it respected the economist's decision to depart.

"We acknowledge his significant contributions and the perspective he provided to the Board," the organization remarked.

Political Context

This news arrives after both chambers of the legislative branch voted on recently to pass a legislation that would mandate the US justice department to disclose its files on the case.

The bill will afterward proceed to the office of President Trump for signature. He has stated he expects to approve the bill, after reversing his stance on the matter following pressure from his supporters.

Message Details

A group of Epstein-related correspondence released by the Congressional committee last week included numerous well-known personalities in the Epstein's previous network, without indicating any legal wrongdoing by those people.

The emails indicated that the economist and Epstein often met for meals, with he often attempting to connect the official to notable international personalities.

Individual Statement

After the messages were made available with the wider community, Summers said he accepted "complete accountability for my misguided judgment to continue communicating with Jeffrey Epstein".

He added that he desired "to reestablish faith and repair relationships with the individuals most important to me".

Professional History

Summers served in leadership roles under two Democratic presidents; acting as treasury secretary under President Clinton, and as head of the economic advisory body under the former leader.

He presided over the university from the early 2000s and remains a professor there. When announcing his withdrawal from public commitments recently on this week, he stated he would persist with his academic responsibilities.

Additional Consequences

Following his statement on Monday, the Center for American Progress, a liberal policy institute in the capital where the professor was a prominent member, announced that the economist was no longer connected with the institution.

Summers became part of the board of the AI company, which makes the AI chatbot, in 2023 - following a unsuccessful effort to oust its chief executive OpenAI's head.