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One-time economic leader the Harvard professor is exiting the governing body at the artificial intelligence firm, just several days after a series of emails between him and late convicted sex offender the accused trafficker became public.

The economist commented in a statement that he was "grateful for the chance to have served, excited about the prospects of the organization, and anticipate observing their advancement".

The former Harvard president, who previously presided over the Ivy League institution, declared on Monday that he would be stepping back from public commitments due to his association with Jeffrey Epstein.

Email Communications

The newly public emails demonstrated that Summers exchanged messages with Epstein until the 24 hours preceding his 2019 arrest for accused trafficking of minors.

In a separate statement, the technology organization said it understood Summers' choice to step down.

"We appreciate his significant contributions and the perspective he brought to the Board," OpenAI stated.

Political Context

This news comes after the two houses of the US legislature agreed on recently to endorse a legislation that would mandate the US justice department to release its records on the case.

The legislation will afterward proceed to the administration of the White House for endorsement. The President has stated he intends to sign the measure, after modifying his view on the subject following objections from his supporters.

Correspondence Findings

A batch of Epstein-connected emails released by the House Oversight Committee last week referenced multiple well-known personalities in the billionaire's former circle, without indicating any criminal activity by those people.

The communications showed that Summers and Jeffrey Epstein regularly had dinners together, with Epstein often attempting to connect the academic to influential world leaders.

Individual Statement

After the emails were made available with the public, Summers expressed he took "complete accountability for my misguided choice to maintain corresponding with Jeffrey Epstein".

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

Professional History

Summers held leadership roles under two Democratic presidents; functioning as economic leader under President Clinton, and as leader of the National Economic Council under Barack Obama.

He led the institution from 2001 to 2006 and is still a academic there. When stating his step-down from public duties earlier on Monday, he said he would persist with his academic responsibilities.

Additional Consequences

Following the economist's announcement on Monday, the policy organization, a left-leaning think tank in DC where Summers was a senior fellow, announced that he was not connected with the institution.

The former official entered the leadership of the AI company, which creates ChatGPT, in last year - following a unsuccessful effort to oust its CEO OpenAI's head.