Two days after saying he would be taking a step back from his public commitments after last week’s document dump of Jeffrey Epstein files revealed he regularly exchanged emails with the late sex offender, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers on Wednesday announced he is exiting the board of OpenAI.
“In line with my announcement to step away from my public commitments, I have also decided to resign from the board of OpenAI,” Summers said in a statement. “I am grateful for the opportunity to have served, excited about the potential of the company, and look forward to following their progress.”
The board has confirmed his exit, saying its members “respect his decision.”
They said in a statement, “We appreciate his many contributions and the perspective he brought to the Board.”
Summers joined the board of the AI research and deployment company in November 2023.
Following the disclosure, Summers said he is “deeply ashamed of my actions and recognize the pain they have caused.”
He added, “I take full responsibility for my misguided decision to continue communicating with Mr. Epstein. While continuing to fulfill my teaching obligations, I will be stepping back from public commitments as one part of my broader effort.”
Since then, Summers, who served as Treasury secretary in former President Bill Clinton’s administration and National Economic Council director in former President Barack Obama’s administration, has been under increased scrutiny.
The New York Times has announced it won’t renew its contract with Summers.
“Summers was a contributing writer for New York Times Opinion on a one-year contract beginning in January 2025. We do not intend to renew this contract. We thank him for his contributions,” said Charlie Stadtlander, the paper’s executive director for media relations and communications.
Harvard, where Summers now teaches and previously served as president, has also opened an inquiry into the ties he and other faculty members had with Epstein.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has ordered U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate the relationship prominent Democrats, including Summers, had with the disgraced financier. Notably, the list excludes Trump himself despite his well-documented friendship with Epstein.
Congress on Tuesday voted to approve a bill forcing the Justice Department to release the full Epstein files. The legislation is now headed to Trump’s desk for signature.
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