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Former US treasury secretary the Harvard professor is leaving the board at the ChatGPT creator, just a week after a batch of digital correspondence between him and late convicted sex offender the disgraced billionaire became widely known.

Summers commented in an announcement that he was "thankful for the privilege to have served, enthusiastic about the promise of the company, and look forward tracking their advancement".

Summers, who once led Harvard University, announced on earlier this week that he would be withdrawing from public roles due to his association with the convicted sex offender.

Digital Correspondence

The freshly disclosed emails revealed that the official exchanged messages with Jeffrey Epstein until the day before Epstein's 2019 apprehension for accused trafficking of minors.

In additional comments, the artificial intelligence company expressed it respected Summers' determination to resign.

"We value his significant contributions and the insight he provided to the governing body," the company stated.

Political Context

This news comes after the two houses of Congress decided on this week to endorse a measure that would compel the Department of Justice to make public its files on the case.

The legislation will then proceed to the desk of President Trump for signature. Trump has indicated he expects to approve the bill, after reversing his view on the subject following objections from his followers.

Message Details

A batch of financier-linked emails disclosed by the Congressional committee recently mentioned numerous high-profile figures in the Epstein's previous network, without implying any criminal activity by those figures.

The communications indicated that the professor and Epstein often met for meals, with Epstein often trying to connect the academic to notable global figures.

Personal Response

After the correspondence were made available with the general audience, he stated he accepted "full responsibility for my misguided choice to maintain interacting with Jeffrey Epstein".

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

Professional History

The professor occupied leadership roles under Democratic administrations; functioning as economic leader under Bill Clinton, and as director of the National Economic Council under the former leader.

He led Harvard from the early 2000s and is still a professor there. When declaring his step-down from public duties recently on Monday, he stated he would continue his educational duties.

Further Repercussions

Following Summers' statement on Monday, the Washington think tank, a liberal research organization in DC where Summers was a prominent member, verified that Summers was not connected with the institution.

The former official entered the board of OpenAI, which develops ChatGPT, in 2023 - following a failed attempt to replace its CEO OpenAI's head.