Larry Summers, a prominent academic and former Treasury Secretary, announced on Monday his intention to scale back on public engagements. This decision comes in the wake of disclosed emails and text messages between Summers and the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The disclosure was made by Republicans on the House Oversight Committee, who published a collection of documents last week. These records reveal that Summers maintained contact with Epstein after his 2008 guilty plea for sex crimes in Florida, up until Epstein's arrest in July 2019 on federal child sex trafficking charges.
"I am deeply ashamed of my actions and recognize the pain they have caused," Summers stated, reflecting on his continued communication with Epstein.
In a statement released to the New York Post, Summers expressed profound remorse for his actions, stating, "I am deeply ashamed of my actions and recognize the pain they have caused." He accepted full responsibility for his "misguided decision" to stay in touch with Epstein. Although stepping back from various public roles, Summers, aged 70, confirmed his commitment to continue teaching at Harvard University.
Summers' association with Epstein involved discussions on a wide array of topics, including politics, women, and matters related to Harvard, where Summers once served as President. The emails span from 2013 to 2019, with hundreds of exchanges between the two men. Notably, Summers solicited romantic advice from Epstein and critiqued President Trump's actions, including his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and inquired about possible compromising information that Russians might hold on Trump.
The public and professional life of Summers extends beyond academia. He serves on the boards of OpenAI and Skillsoft and contributes to Bloomberg and The New York Times, in addition to his role as a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. The released documents have cast a new light on the extent and nature of his relationship with Epstein, prompting Summers to take a step back and focus on rebuilding trust and repairing relationships.
The final documented email contact between Summers and Epstein was in March 2019, with text messages continuing until the day before Epstein's arrest, as reported by the Harvard Crimson. The revelations have sparked reactions on social media, with some users highlighting the irony in Summers' criticism of President Trump's decision to dismiss an official while being entangled in the Epstein scandal himself.
