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Former US treasury secretary the Harvard professor is leaving the directorate at the artificial intelligence firm, just a week after a batch of digital correspondence between him and deceased financier the disgraced billionaire became public.

The economist stated in an announcement that he was "thankful for the privilege to have contributed, excited about the potential of the enterprise, and look forward observing their development".

The former Harvard president, who formerly headed the prestigious university, stated on recently that he would be withdrawing from public responsibilities due to his association with Jeffrey Epstein.

Digital Correspondence

The newly public messages demonstrated that Summers corresponded with Jeffrey Epstein until the day before Epstein's 2019 arrest for suspected sex trafficking of minors.

In additional comments, the artificial intelligence company said it understood Summers' determination to step down.

"We acknowledge his many contributions and the perspective he provided to the governing body," the organization remarked.

Congressional Action

This announcement comes after both chambers of the legislative branch decided on recently to pass a measure that would mandate the Department of Justice to disclose its records on Epstein.

The measure will then head to the administration of President Trump for signature. The President has indicated he intends to approve the bill, after changing his view on the matter following pressure from his base.

Message Details

A group of Epstein-connected emails released by the legislative panel days ago referenced numerous well-known personalities in the Epstein's former circle, without suggesting any legal wrongdoing by those individuals.

The emails showed that the economist and Jeffrey Epstein often met for meals, with Epstein often seeking to introduce the academic to prominent world leaders.

Personal Response

After the emails were made available with the wider community, the former official said he took "full responsibility for my poor judgment to continue corresponding with Mr Epstein".

He continued that he wanted "to reestablish confidence and fix relationships with the persons most important to me".

Previous Positions

Summers occupied leadership roles under two Democratic presidents; functioning as economic leader under President Clinton, and as director of the National Economic Council under the former leader.

He headed the institution from the early 2000s and is still a faculty member there. When declaring his withdrawal from public roles previously on Monday, he said he would continue his educational duties.

Other Impacts

Following Summers' statement on earlier this week, the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning think tank in Washington where the professor was a prominent member, confirmed that the economist was not associated with the organization.

The former official joined the board of OpenAI, which makes ChatGPT, in 2023 - following a defeated move to oust its chief executive OpenAI's head.