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Ex-Treasury chief the Harvard professor is exiting the directorate at the artificial intelligence firm, just days after a series of electronic messages between him and notorious criminal the disgraced billionaire became widely known.

He remarked in a statement that he was "grateful for the chance to have served, optimistic about the prospects of the enterprise, and look forward observing their development".

The prominent academic, who previously headed the Ivy League institution, declared on Monday that he would be stepping back from public roles due to his connections with the convicted sex offender.

Message Exchange

The freshly disclosed messages demonstrated that the economist corresponded with Jeffrey Epstein until the eve of his 2019 arrest for alleged sex trafficking of minors.

In a separate statement, the AI firm stated it accepted his determination to depart.

"We acknowledge his significant contributions and the viewpoint he offered to the governing body," the organization stated.

Political Context

This announcement follows after both chambers of Congress voted on Tuesday to pass a bill that would require the US justice department to disclose its records on Epstein.

The measure will subsequently head to the administration of the White House for approval. Trump has stated he expects to sign the legislation, after modifying his position on the subject following objections from his supporters.

Message Details

A batch of financier-linked messages released by the House Oversight Committee days ago mentioned multiple high-profile figures in the Epstein's former circle, without suggesting any illegal behavior by those people.

The emails revealed that the professor and Epstein often met for meals, with he often attempting to connect the official to prominent global figures.

Individual Statement

After the emails were released with the wider community, the former official expressed he accepted "total ownership for my misguided decision to maintain interacting with Jeffrey Epstein".

He further stated that he wanted "to rebuild confidence and repair bonds with the individuals most important to me".

Professional History

The economist held high-level positions under party leaders; acting as Treasury chief under Bill Clinton, and as leader of the economic advisory body under Barack Obama.

He presided over the institution from 2001 to 2006 and continues to be a professor there. When stating his step-down from public commitments earlier on this week, he stated he would continue his academic responsibilities.

Other Impacts

Following Summers' announcement on earlier this week, the Washington think tank, a progressive policy institute in DC where the professor was a prominent member, announced that the economist was ceased to be connected with the group.

The former official became part of the leadership of the AI company, which makes the language model, in last year - following a failed attempt to remove its CEO OpenAI's head.