Larry Summers, former Treasury Secretary and ex-president of Harvard University, has stepped down from OpenAI’s board of directors – a move that follows mounting scrutiny over recently published email exchanges between him and Jeffrey Epstein.
Summers, 70, joined OpenAI’s board in late 2023. His exit marks another high-profile repercussion stemming from renewed public attention on the years of correspondence with Epstein, who died by suicide in federal custody in August 2019.
OpenAI confirmed the departure Wednesday, 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.”
Summers issued his own statement, echoing his decision to scale back his public roles. “In line with my announcement to step away from my public commitments, I have also decided to resign from the board of OpenAI,” he said, adding, “I am grateful for the opportunity to have served, excited about the potential of the company, and look forward to following their progress.”
The resignation came two days after Summers publicly expressed regret for maintaining contact with Epstein, whose estate-related emails were released last week by the House Oversight Committee. The trove included thousands of communications, some indicating a long-running relationship between the two men that extended into 2019, shortly before Epstein’s arrest on federal sex trafficking charges. Summers has not been accused of any criminal wrongdoing, and no evidence has emerged linking him to Epstein’s crimes.
Summers’ relationship with Epstein has been documented for years, including multiple flights on Epstein’s aircraft and interactions during Summers’ 2001–2006 tenure as Harvard’s president, a period in which the university received multimillion-dollar gifts from Epstein—donations Harvard says were made prior to Epstein’s 2008 guilty plea in Florida.
On Monday, Summers acknowledged the fallout from the disclosures, saying, “I am deeply ashamed of my actions and recognize the pain they have caused. I take full responsibility for my misguided decision to continue communicating with Mr. Epstein.” He added that he would continue teaching at Harvard while “stepping back from public commitments as one part of my broader effort to rebuild trust and repair relationships with the people closest to me.”
Harvard confirmed Wednesday it will conduct a new review of individuals at the university mentioned in the recently released Epstein records. The institution previously examined its Epstein ties in 2019. Officials declined to say whether Summers’ teaching role may be affected while the new inquiry proceeds.
The congressional push for transparency around Epstein also continued this week, as lawmakers overwhelmingly passed a bill requiring the release of additional Epstein files. It remains unclear whether President Trump will sign the legislation.
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