Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers has taken a sudden leave from his teaching role at Harvard University, where he previously served as president, following the emergence of emails revealing his friendly ties with Jeffrey Epstein, as confirmed by his spokesperson. Despite initially planning to continue teaching economics classes at Harvard amidst the fallout from his connections to Epstein, Summers decided to step back from both teaching and his position as director of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School by Wednesday evening.
According to Summers’ spokesperson Steven Goldberg, he opted to go on leave from his director role at the Center while the university conducts a review. His co-teachers will complete the remaining class sessions for the courses he was teaching this semester, and he is not scheduled to teach next semester. Harvard officials have been informed of Summers’ decision, although it remains uncertain if he will resume teaching in the upcoming semester. The Harvard Crimson newspaper first reported Summers’ decision to go on leave.
The decision by Harvard to reopen an investigation was not explicitly linked to Summers, but it came after the disclosure of emails indicating his ongoing amicable relationship with Epstein following the latter’s 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor. Summers had faced mounting scrutiny for his choice to remain in his teaching position, with some students recording his statements in a class where he emphasized the importance of continuing to teach.
Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren criticized Summers on social media, accusing him of aligning with influential individuals, including a convicted sex offender, and casting doubt on his suitability for positions of influence. Additionally, Summers has resigned from the board of OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, as announced by the board in a statement acknowledging his contributions and perspective.
Summers expressed gratitude for the opportunity to serve on the OpenAI board and conveyed excitement about the company’s potential while looking forward to monitoring its progress. He had joined the OpenAI board in November 2023 as part of an initiative to stabilize the nonprofit and reinstate Sam Altman as CEO after previous board members had removed Altman. Jeffrey Epstein, known for his connections to affluent and influential figures, faced significant backlash and conspiracy theories surrounding misconduct among American elites. In a related development, President Donald Trump signed a bill into law on Wednesday evening, mandating the Justice Department to release its investigative files on Epstein, despite his earlier resistance to their disclosure.