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Ex-Treasury chief the Harvard professor is leaving the directorate at OpenAI, just several days after a batch of digital correspondence between him and notorious criminal the accused trafficker became public.

Summers stated in an announcement that he was "appreciative for the chance to have contributed, enthusiastic about the prospects of the company, and eagerly await tracking their progress".

The prominent academic, who previously presided over the prestigious university, stated on recently that he would be withdrawing from public responsibilities due to his connections with Jeffrey Epstein.

Digital Correspondence

The newly public emails demonstrated that Summers exchanged messages with Jeffrey Epstein until the 24 hours preceding the financier's 2019 arrest for accused sex trafficking of young people.

In a separate statement, the AI firm expressed it respected the economist's decision to resign.

"We acknowledge his many contributions and the viewpoint he brought to the directors," OpenAI stated.

Political Context

This announcement arrives after both chambers of the legislative branch voted on this week to approve a legislation that would require the federal prosecutors to disclose its documents on Epstein.

The bill will afterward move to the administration of President Trump for endorsement. He has said he expects to sign the measure, after modifying his stance on the issue following pressure from his followers.

Email Contents

A batch of Epstein-related emails made public by the House Oversight Committee last week referenced numerous well-known personalities in the Epstein's former circle, without implying any illegal behavior by those figures.

The messages indicated that Summers and Jeffrey Epstein regularly had dinners together, with the billionaire often seeking to connect the academic to influential international personalities.

Individual Statement

After the messages were released with the general audience, Summers said he took "full responsibility for my poor decision to continue interacting with Mr Epstein".

He added that he desired "to restore trust and repair relationships with the persons most important to me".

Career Background

The professor served in senior posts under two Democratic presidents; acting as Treasury chief under Bill Clinton, and as leader of the National Economic Council under Barack Obama.

He headed Harvard from five years and remains a professor there. When stating his step-down from public duties earlier on Monday, he stated he would persist with his academic responsibilities.

Further Repercussions

Following his declaration on Monday, the policy organization, a liberal think tank in Washington where the professor was a prominent member, confirmed that the economist was not affiliated with the institution.

He joined the leadership of OpenAI, which creates the AI chatbot, in last year - following a defeated move to replace its top executive OpenAI's head.