Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers has taken a sudden leave from his teaching position at Harvard University, where he previously served as president, due to recently disclosed emails revealing his friendly ties with Jeffrey Epstein, as stated by his spokesperson. Summers had been reducing his public commitments following the disclosure of his connections with the late sex offender Epstein but had initially intended to continue teaching economics at Harvard. However, by the evening of the same day, Summers not only stepped away from teaching but also resigned as the director of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School.
According to Summers’ spokesperson, Steven Goldberg, “Mr. Summers has decided it’s in the best interest of the Center for him to go on leave from his role as Director as Harvard undertakes its review.” The university confirmed that Summers had informed them of his decision. There is no immediate clarity on whether Summers will resume teaching in the upcoming semester. The Harvard Crimson newspaper first reported Summers’ decision to take a leave of absence.
While Harvard did not mention Summers by name in their decision to launch an investigation, the action follows the release of emails demonstrating his continued friendly relationship with Epstein well after the latter’s guilty plea in 2008. Summers, a once highly respected economics expert, had been under mounting scrutiny for opting to remain in his teaching position. Some students recorded his appearance before a class of undergraduates where he emphasized the importance of continuing to teach.
On Wednesday, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat, criticized Summers in a social media post, stating that he had associated with the wealthy and influential, including a convicted sex offender, and therefore could not be trusted in positions of power.
Earlier in the day, Summers cut ties with OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT. The OpenAI board released a statement saying, “Larry has decided to resign from the OpenAI board of directors, and we respect his decision. We appreciate his many contributions and the perspective he brought to the board.” This announcement followed Summers’ declaration the previous day that he was stepping back from public obligations.
Summers expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to serve on the OpenAI board and his excitement about the company’s potential in a separate statement regarding his departure. He had joined the OpenAI board in November 2023 as part of an initiative to stabilize the nonprofit and reinstate Sam Altman as CEO after the previous board members had dismissed Altman days earlier.
Jeffrey Epstein, who passed away by suicide in 2019, was a convicted sex offender known for his connections with affluent and influential individuals, making him a subject of widespread outrage and conspiracy theories about misconduct among American elites. On Wednesday evening, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a bill into law compelling the Justice Department to release its files on their investigations into Epstein, despite his previous resistance to their disclosure.