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One-time economic leader the Harvard professor is exiting the governing body at OpenAI, just days after a collection of emails between him and late convicted sex offender the disgraced billionaire became publicly available.

The economist commented in a statement that he was "appreciative for the chance to have served, optimistic about the prospects of the enterprise, and look forward tracking their progress".

The former Harvard president, who previously led Harvard University, stated on recently that he would be scaling back from public commitments due to his relationship with the convicted sex offender.

Digital Correspondence

The freshly disclosed communications showed that the economist communicated with the financier until the eve of Epstein's 2019 arrest for alleged human trafficking of young people.

In a separate statement, the AI firm said it understood his decision to resign.

"We appreciate his numerous inputs and the insight he offered to the governing body," the company stated.

Political Context

This announcement follows after both chambers of the US legislature voted on this week to endorse a measure that would compel the US justice department to make public its records on Jeffrey Epstein.

The measure will afterward move to the office of President Trump for endorsement. He has said he plans to endorse the measure, after modifying his stance on the matter following pressure from his followers.

Message Details

A collection of Epstein-connected emails released by the Congressional committee recently referenced numerous well-known personalities in the financier's past associates, without indicating any criminal activity by those people.

The communications revealed that the professor and Epstein regularly had dinners together, with the billionaire often attempting to connect the official to notable international personalities.

Individual Statement

After the emails were released with the public, Summers stated he assumed "complete accountability for my ill-advised decision to persist in corresponding with Jeffrey Epstein".

He added that he wanted "to restore trust and repair relationships with the persons closest to me".

Professional History

The professor served in high-level positions under Democratic administrations; acting as treasury secretary under President Clinton, and as director of the economic advisory body under President Obama.

He presided over the institution from the early 2000s and is still a professor there. When stating his departure from public commitments earlier on Monday, he stated he would continue his educational duties.

Further Repercussions

Following Summers' announcement on earlier this week, the Center for American Progress, a liberal research organization in Washington where he was a prominent member, verified that the economist was not affiliated with the institution.

The former official became part of the board of the technology firm, which creates the AI chatbot, in 2023 - following a defeated move to oust its CEO OpenAI's head.