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Former US treasury secretary Larry Summers is leaving the directorate at OpenAI, just several days after a series of emails between him and deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein became widely known.

The economist remarked in a release that he was "grateful for the opportunity to have contributed, excited about the promise of the enterprise, and anticipate tracking their progress".

The former Harvard president, who formerly headed the Ivy League institution, declared on earlier this week that he would be stepping back from public roles due to his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

Email Communications

The newly public communications demonstrated that the economist corresponded with Epstein until the 24 hours preceding Epstein's 2019 detention for suspected human trafficking of underage individuals.

In a separate statement, the technology organization said it understood the economist's determination to resign.

"We value his numerous inputs and the viewpoint he brought to the governing body," the organization commented.

Political Context

This announcement follows after the entire Congress of the US legislature agreed on this week to approve a legislation that would mandate the Department of Justice to release its files on Jeffrey Epstein.

The bill will afterward move to the office of US President Donald Trump for endorsement. Trump has said he expects to endorse the measure, after modifying his position on the subject following pushback from his followers.

Email Contents

A group of financier-linked emails made public by the legislative panel last week mentioned multiple well-known personalities in the billionaire's former circle, without implying any illegal behavior by those people.

The emails revealed that Summers and Epstein regularly had dinners together, with Epstein often trying to link the official to prominent world leaders.

Personal Accountability

After the correspondence were shared with the public, he expressed he accepted "total ownership for my misguided judgment to continue communicating with the financier".

He added that he hoped "to reestablish confidence and mend bonds with the individuals closest to me".

Career Background

Summers served in high-level positions under Democratic administrations; functioning as treasury secretary under President Clinton, and as head of the economic advisory body under the former leader.

He presided over Harvard from 2001 to 2006 and remains a faculty member there. When stating his departure from public commitments recently on this week, he indicated he would maintain his academic responsibilities.

Other Impacts

Following the economist's declaration on Monday, the Center for American Progress, a progressive policy institute in the capital where the professor was a researcher, confirmed that he was ceased to be affiliated with the institution.

The former official joined the leadership of the technology firm, which develops the AI chatbot, in last year - following a defeated move to oust its CEO OpenAI's head.