Larry Summers, a former Harvard University President and senior Obama administration official, has stepped back from public duties following the release of emails that revealed years of personal correspondence with Jeffrey Epstein, a disgraced financier and convicted sex offender. The emails, disclosed by a House committee, include conversations in which Summers referred to Epstein as his ‘wingman,’ highlighting the depth of their relationship. Summers, who recently resigned from the OpenAI board, addressed his past during a lecture at Harvard on Wednesday, expressing shame over his communication with Epstein and stating his intention to step back from public activities.
Summers, who previously served as Harvard’s president from 2001 to 2006 and held senior roles in the Obama administration, was also implicated in a broader investigation into his ties to Epstein. The House committee’s release of the emails, which span from 2013 to 2019, also showed that Epstein supported Summers during his marriage and even after Epstein’s conviction. The revelations have triggered an internal review at Harvard, with the university conducting an evaluation of the information concerning faculty and staff members linked to Epstein. This review includes other Harvard-affiliated individuals, such as legal scholar Alan Dershowitz and English professor emerita Elisa New, who is married to Summers.
The fallout has resulted in widespread public outrage, with online commentators calling for accountability and expressing disbelief at Summers’ continued presence in academia. Some have questioned how Summers, who has a history of controversial decisions, still holds a position at Harvard. The university and Summers have not yet responded to requests for comment, leaving the situation to evolve in the public eye. As the scrutiny continues, Harvard faces pressure to address the implications of its faculty’s connections to Epstein, potentially affecting its reputation and institutional integrity.