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One-time economic leader the Harvard professor is exiting the governing body at the ChatGPT creator, just a week after a series of digital correspondence between him and notorious criminal the disgraced billionaire became publicly available.

Summers stated in a statement that he was "grateful for the opportunity to have participated, enthusiastic about the promise of the enterprise, and look forward following their progress".

Summers, who formerly led the prestigious university, announced on earlier this week that he would be stepping back from public responsibilities due to his connections with Jeffrey Epstein.

Digital Correspondence

The freshly disclosed messages showed that Summers communicated with Epstein until the eve of Epstein's 2019 arrest for accused human trafficking of young people.

In additional comments, the AI firm expressed it accepted Summers' choice to resign.

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

Legislative Background

This development follows after the two houses of Congress decided on Tuesday to approve a measure that would require the US justice department to disclose its documents on the case.

The bill will then move to the office of US President Donald Trump for endorsement. He has stated he plans to approve the bill, after reversing his stance on the issue following objections from his followers.

Message Details

A group of Epstein-related correspondence disclosed by the Congressional committee last week mentioned numerous well-known personalities in the Epstein's past associates, without suggesting any illegal behavior by those people.

The messages revealed that Summers and Jeffrey Epstein dined together frequently, with he often trying to introduce Summers to influential global figures.

Individual Statement

After the emails were shared with the wider community, Summers said he took "total ownership for my ill-advised decision to maintain corresponding with Mr Epstein".

He continued that he wanted "to rebuild faith and mend relationships with the individuals nearest to me".

Career Background

Summers served in senior posts under two Democratic presidents; serving as economic leader under President Clinton, and as head of the White House economic team under Barack Obama.

He headed the university from five years and continues to be a faculty member there. When announcing his departure from public commitments previously on this week, he stated he would persist with his educational duties.

Other Impacts

Following Summers' declaration on earlier this week, the Center for American Progress, a liberal research organization in the capital where Summers was a researcher, announced that Summers was no longer affiliated with the organization.

Summers became part of the board of the AI company, which makes the language model, in the previous year - following a defeated move to replace its top executive Sam Altman.