 "Larry Summers, president emeritus of Harvard University, speaks during a discussion on \"A Reform Agenda for Europe's Leaders\" during the World Bank/IMF annual meetings in Washington on October 9, 2014. Reuters File")
Former US Treasury Secretary and Harvard President Larry Summers has announced that he is stepping back from his public commitments after his links with the late disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were made public by US lawmakers.
“I am deeply ashamed of my actions and recognise the pain they have caused. I take full responsibility for my misguided decision to continue communicating with Mr. Epstein,” Bloomberg quoted Summers, who was US Treasury secretary from 1999 to 2001, as saying in a statement on Monday.
Summers, a Harvard professor and paid Bloomberg TV contributor, said he will continue teaching but will withdraw from other public-facing roles as “one part of my broader effort to rebuild trust and repair relationships with the people closest to me.”
The move follows last week’s release of roughly 20,000 documents from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Among the materials were messages in which Summers exchanged views about Donald Trump with Epstein, who died in jail in 2019 after being charged with sex trafficking minors. His death was determined to be a suicide.
The batch of documents, made public by House Democrats, also contained communications involving other well-known figures, including former Trump adviser Steve Bannon.
Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat and former Harvard Law School professor, told CNN on Monday that Harvard should sever its ties with Summers, arguing that his past association with Epstein makes him unfit to work closely with students.
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View AllThe Harvard Crimson first reported Summers’ statement earlier on Monday.
With inputs from agencies