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Ex-Treasury chief the Harvard professor is exiting the directorate at OpenAI, just a week after a batch of digital correspondence between him and late convicted sex offender the disgraced billionaire became widely known.

Summers remarked in a release that he was "grateful for the opportunity to have participated, enthusiastic about the promise of the company, and look forward following their advancement".

Summers, who once headed Harvard University, stated on recently that he would be scaling back from public responsibilities due to his connections with Jeffrey Epstein.

Digital Correspondence

The recently released emails revealed that the economist communicated with Jeffrey Epstein until the eve of Epstein's 2019 arrest for alleged sex trafficking of underage individuals.

In additional comments, the artificial intelligence company stated it accepted his decision to depart.

"We acknowledge his significant contributions and the viewpoint he provided to the Board," the company stated.

Congressional Action

This announcement comes after the two houses of the legislative branch voted on this week to pass a measure that would mandate the Department of Justice to make public its documents on Jeffrey Epstein.

The legislation will afterward move to the desk of US President Donald Trump for endorsement. He has stated he plans to sign the legislation, after changing his position on the matter following pushback from his base.

Message Details

A group of Epstein-connected messages made public by the legislative panel last week included several prominent individuals in the financier's former circle, without suggesting any criminal activity by those individuals.

The communications revealed that the economist and Jeffrey Epstein dined together frequently, with Epstein often attempting to connect the official to influential world leaders.

Individual Statement

After the correspondence were made available with the public, he said he took "complete accountability for my poor decision to persist in corresponding with the financier".

He added that he wanted "to restore trust and mend relationships with the people most important to me".

Career Background

Summers occupied senior posts under party leaders; serving as economic leader under Bill Clinton, and as leader of the National Economic Council under Barack Obama.

He presided over the institution from 2001 to 2006 and continues to be a academic there. When declaring his step-down from public roles recently on Monday, he said he would persist with his educational duties.

Further Repercussions

Following Summers' declaration on Monday, the Washington think tank, a progressive think tank in Washington where the professor was a prominent member, verified that Summers was ceased to be connected with the organization.

The former official became part of the board of OpenAI, which makes the language model, in 2023 - following a failed attempt to oust its top executive Sam Altman.