Larry Summers Steps Down from Harvard Amid Epstein Email Controversy

Post by : Raina Nasser

Larry Summers, the former US Treasury Secretary and a professor at Harvard, has taken an unexpected leave from his teaching duties following the emergence of emails that highlight his ongoing communications with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. This move comes as public scrutiny intensifies and an inquiry into his prior connections with Epstein is reopened.

Once Harvard's president, Summers had previously suspended public engagements in light of the email disclosures. Recently, he has also ended his collaboration with OpenAI, the organization behind ChatGPT. Harvard has confirmed that Summers will be stepping back from teaching his undergraduate economics classes and from his leadership role at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School.

“Mr. Summers believes it’s best for the Center that he takes a leave while the investigation proceeds,” stated his spokesperson, Steven Goldberg. Instruction will proceed with the assistance of co-teachers. Summers will not be teaching next semester.

The revealed emails indicate that Summers kept in touch with Epstein long after Epstein's 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor. Certain messages suggest Epstein provided personal counsel to Summers regarding a romantic relationship, and Summers appeared to follow up on this matter.

Summers’ wife, Elisa New, also had exchanges with Epstein. In a 2015 email, she expressed gratitude for his financial support for a poetry project she oversees, stating the contribution “changed everything for me.”

Despite earlier commitments to continue teaching, Summers' involvement in class had begun to elicit reactions from students. On Tuesday, he discussed “The Political Economy of Globalization” with a co-teacher, expressing remorse over his prior interactions with Epstein. A video of his remarks circulated among students, but no immediate public responses emerged.

This controversy has prompted several organizations to cut ties with Summers, including the Center for American Progress, the Center for Global Development, Yale’s Budget Lab, Bloomberg TV, and the New York Times. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren criticized Summers’ association with Epstein on social media, stating he has “cozied up to the rich and powerful — including a convicted sex offender.”

Serving as US Treasury Secretary from 1999 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton and as president of Harvard from 2001 to 2006, Summers has called his connection with Epstein a “major error in judgment” and has expressed “great regrets” about the situation.