Former Clinton-era Treasury Secretary Larry Summers resigned from the OpenAI board on Wednesday after emails showed his association with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Summers’ resignation followed his decision to back away from public commitments in response to House Democrats releasing over 20,000 emails from Epstein’s estate, some of which indicated that Summers regularly communicated with the sex offender from 2013 to 2019. His most recent correspondence was from the day before Epstein’s arrest in 2019, according to NBC News.
“In line with my announcement to step away from my public commitments, I have also decided to resign from the board of OpenAI,” Summers said in a statement. “I am grateful for the opportunity to have served, excited about the potential of the company, and look forward to following their progress.”
Summers joined the OpenAI board in November 2023. The company said it respected Summers’ decision and were grateful for his contributions.
“We appreciate his many contributions and the perspective he brought to the Board,” the company said, according to NBC News.
The email exchanges showed Summers appearing to seek romantic advice from Epstein about a woman he was pursuing at Harvard University, where he previously served as president. When the emails were sent, Epstein had already served a prison sentence for solicitation of prostitution of a minor.
President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that he directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate Epstein’s involvement with Summers, former President Bill Clinton, J.P. Morgan and others who were named in the documents. In response, Bondi assigned U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton to lead the investigation.
Following the release of the emails, Summers said on Monday that he is “deeply ashamed” of his actions and that he takes “full responsibility” for continuing to communicate with Epstein.
“I am deeply ashamed of my actions and recognize the pain they have caused. I take full responsibility for my misguided decision to continue communicating with Mr. Epstein,” Summers said.
Harvard University is reinvestigating Summers’ association with Epstein following the release of the emails, according to The Washington Post. An earlier review completed in 2020 found that Epstein visited Harvard’s campus more than 40 times after his 2008 sex crimes conviction. Summers teaches at Harvard and holds the title of Charles W. Eliot University Professor, the highest academic honor at the university.
The House passed the “Epstein Files Transparency Act” on Tuesday in a 427-1 vote, with Republican Louisiana Rep. Clay Higgins being the sole dissenter. President Donald Trump called on Republicans to release the files in a Monday Truth Social post, stating that they have “nothing to hide.”
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