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Ex-Treasury chief Larry Summers is leaving the board at the artificial intelligence firm, just a week after a series of emails between him and late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein became public.

The economist commented in a statement that he was "appreciative for the chance to have participated, optimistic about the potential of the company, and eagerly await observing their progress".

Summers, who formerly headed the prestigious university, stated on recently that he would be stepping back from public commitments due to his connections with Jeffrey Epstein.

Message Exchange

The freshly disclosed communications demonstrated that Summers corresponded with Jeffrey Epstein until the 24 hours preceding Epstein's 2019 detention for accused human trafficking of underage individuals.

In additional comments, the AI firm expressed it understood the economist's determination to resign.

"We appreciate his many contributions and the insight he offered to the directors," the organization commented.

Congressional Action

This announcement follows after both chambers of Congress voted on this week to endorse a legislation that would require the Department of Justice to make public its files on Epstein.

The legislation will then proceed to the office of President Trump for endorsement. The President has stated he plans to approve the legislation, after changing his position on the issue following objections from his base.

Correspondence Findings

A batch of financier-linked emails released by the House Oversight Committee last week referenced several well-known personalities in the billionaire's previous network, without suggesting any legal wrongdoing by those people.

The communications revealed that Summers and the financier dined together frequently, with the billionaire often seeking to link the academic to notable world leaders.

Personal Response

After the correspondence were released with the general audience, he expressed he took "full responsibility for my ill-advised decision to maintain communicating with the financier".

He continued that he wanted "to rebuild trust and fix bonds with the individuals closest to me".

Previous Positions

Summers served in high-level positions under Democratic administrations; serving as economic leader under the former president, and as leader of the economic advisory body under President Obama.

He led Harvard from the early 2000s and continues to be a academic there. When announcing his departure from public commitments recently on this week, he indicated he would persist with his academic responsibilities.

Other Impacts

Following Summers' declaration on Monday, the Center for American Progress, a progressive policy institute in DC where he was a researcher, confirmed that he was not connected with the group.

Summers became part of the directorate of the technology firm, which makes ChatGPT, in last year - following a failed attempt to remove its top executive the company leader.