🔗 Share this article Former Treasury Secretary Summers Steps Down from OpenAI Board The former official stated he would retreat from public positions after legislative body disclosed his repeated correspondence with Epstein One-time economic leader Lawrence Summers is exiting the board at the ChatGPT creator, just several days after a series of electronic messages between him and deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein became publicly available. He commented in a statement that he was "grateful for the chance to have participated, enthusiastic about the prospects of the company, and anticipate observing their advancement". The former Harvard president, who once led the Ivy League institution, announced on earlier this week that he would be withdrawing from public responsibilities due to his relationship with Epstein. Message Exchange The newly public emails demonstrated that the official communicated with Epstein until the day before the financier's 2019 arrest for alleged trafficking of young people. In another announcement, the artificial intelligence company expressed it understood his choice to resign. "We appreciate his significant contributions and the viewpoint he offered to the Board," the organization commented. Political Context This news arrives after the two houses of Congress voted on recently to pass a measure that would mandate the Department of Justice to make public its files on Jeffrey Epstein. The legislation will then proceed to the desk of President Trump for endorsement. He has said he plans to sign the bill, after reversing his stance on the issue following pressure from his supporters. Correspondence Findings A collection of Epstein-related emails released by the House Oversight Committee recently mentioned numerous well-known personalities in the financier's past associates, without suggesting any criminal activity by those individuals. The emails indicated that Summers and Jeffrey Epstein dined together frequently, with he often seeking to link the official to notable world leaders. Personal Accountability After the messages were shared with the public, he said he took "complete accountability for my misguided decision to maintain interacting with Mr Epstein". He added that he desired "to reestablish trust and mend bonds with the individuals closest to me". Previous Positions The professor occupied leadership roles under Democratic administrations; functioning as Treasury chief under the former president, and as leader of the National Economic Council under Barack Obama. He presided over the university from five years and remains a professor there. When stating his departure from public commitments recently on this week, he said he would persist with his teaching commitments. Further Repercussions Following Summers' declaration on Monday, the Washington think tank, a progressive research organization in the capital where the professor was a prominent member, announced that Summers was no longer connected with the group. The former official joined the board of the AI company, which makes ChatGPT, in the previous year - following a defeated move to remove its CEO the company leader.