Larry Summers, Harvard University’s former president, will step back from public commitments after his correspondence with Jeffrey Epstein came to light.
The Harvard Crimson published Summers’ statement where he said his pulling back is an effort “to rebuild trust and repair relationships with the people closest to me.”
The United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform released seven years of correspondence between Summers and Epstein.
He also served as United States Secretary of the Treasury from 1999 to 2001.
The two exchanged messages as recent as July 5, 2019 — one day before Epstein was arrested on sex-trafficking charges, per Fox News.
The hundreds of messages revealed a trust Summers had in Epstein Summers wrote about his pursuit of a romantic relationship with a woman called a mentee.
In a November 2018 message, Epstein describes himself as Summers’ “wing man.” Epstein spent months advising Summers on the relationship.
“I am deeply ashamed of my actions and recognize the pain they have caused,” Summers wrote in his statement.
“I take full responsibility for my misguided decision to continue communicating with Mr. Epstein,” he wrote.
Summers is a senior fellow at the think tank Center for American Progress, a paid columnist with Bloomberg News, and a board member at OpenAI, per Fox News.
He also remains a professor at Harvard and serves as director of the Mossavar‑Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School. He will continue to serve as director, his spokesman said, according to the outlet.
“While continuing to fulfill my teaching obligations, I will be stepping back from public commitments as one part of my broader effort,” Summers wrote.
