🔗 Share this article Former Treasury Secretary Summers Steps Down from OpenAI Board The economist stated he would step back from public duties after legislative body released his regular messages with Epstein One-time economic leader Larry Summers is departing from the board at OpenAI, just a week after a batch of emails between him and deceased financier the disgraced billionaire became publicly available. Summers remarked in a statement that he was "thankful for the opportunity to have served, optimistic about the potential of the enterprise, and anticipate following their advancement". The prominent academic, who formerly presided over the Ivy League institution, stated on recently that he would be stepping back from public responsibilities due to his connections with Epstein. Email Communications The freshly disclosed emails showed that Summers corresponded with Epstein until the 24 hours preceding his 2019 apprehension for alleged sex trafficking of underage individuals. In a separate statement, the AI firm said it understood the economist's determination to resign. "We appreciate his many contributions and the perspective he brought to the directors," the organization remarked. Political Context This announcement follows after the entire Congress of the legislative branch voted on this week to pass a bill that would mandate the US justice department to release its documents on Epstein. The bill will afterward move to the office of President Trump for signature. Trump has said he intends to sign the bill, after reversing his stance on the issue following objections from his supporters. Message Details A collection of Epstein-related correspondence made public by the House Oversight Committee recently mentioned multiple prominent individuals in the Epstein's previous network, without indicating any criminal activity by those figures. The communications indicated that the professor and the financier regularly had dinners together, with the billionaire often trying to connect the official to influential global figures. Personal Response After the correspondence were released with the public, he stated he took "total ownership for my misguided judgment to persist in communicating with Mr Epstein". He added that he hoped "to rebuild confidence and mend bonds with the persons most important to me". Professional History The professor held senior posts under two Democratic presidents; acting as economic leader under President Clinton, and as leader of the economic advisory body under Barack Obama. He presided over Harvard from 2001 to 2006 and continues to be a professor there. When declaring his step-down from public duties recently on Monday, he stated he would maintain his educational duties. Additional Consequences Following Summers' statement on Monday, the policy organization, a left-leaning policy institute in Washington where Summers was a senior fellow, announced that the economist was no longer connected with the institution. The former official became part of the directorate of OpenAI, which develops ChatGPT, in last year - following a defeated move to remove its CEO OpenAI's head.