BBC:
Former Harvard University president Larry Summers has said he will step back from public commitments after his emails with disgraced late financier Jeffrey Epstein were made public.
“I am deeply ashamed of my actions and recognise the pain they have caused,” he said in a statement to CBS News, the BBC’s US partner.
Emails released by a House committee last week show Summers, a former US treasury secretary, communicated with Epstein until the day before the Epstein’s 2019 arrest for the alleged sex trafficking of minors.
On Tuesday, House members are expected to vote on a measure calling for the release of all Epstein-related files that have yet to be made public.
The measure would then head to the Senate, and require the approval of US President Donald Trump.
Summers served as treasury secretary under former President Bill Clinton and director of the National Economic Council under former President Barack Obama. He was president of Harvard from 2001 to 2006 and is currently a professor there.
He wrote in his statement on Monday: “I take full responsibility for my misguided decision to continue communicating with Mr Epstein.”
He added that he wanted “to rebuild trust and repair relationships with the people closest to me”.
“While continuing to fulfil my teaching obligations, I will be stepping back from public commitments as one part of my broader effort,” Summers wrote.
The Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank in Washington where Summers was a senior fellow, also announced on Monday that he was no longer affiliated with the organisation.
Summers is still listed as a member of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI’s board, which he joined in 2023 following a failed attempt to oust its chief executive Sam Altman. The BBC has contacted OpenAI and a representative for Summers about whether he will remain a director at the company.
