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Ex-Treasury chief the Harvard professor is departing from the governing body at the artificial intelligence firm, just several days after a series of electronic messages between him and late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein became publicly available.

The economist stated in an announcement that he was "thankful for the privilege to have participated, enthusiastic about the potential of the company, and look forward tracking their development".

The prominent academic, who previously headed the prestigious university, stated on earlier this week that he would be withdrawing from public roles due to his association with Jeffrey Epstein.

Digital Correspondence

The recently released emails showed that the economist exchanged messages with the financier until the day before his 2019 detention for alleged trafficking of young people.

In another announcement, the AI firm expressed it accepted his decision to resign.

"We value his significant contributions and the insight he brought to the Board," the company commented.

Congressional Action

This news comes after both chambers of the US legislature agreed on Tuesday to pass a legislation that would compel the Department of Justice to disclose its files on Jeffrey Epstein.

The measure will then move to the desk of US President Donald Trump for signature. He has stated he plans to endorse the bill, after modifying his stance on the matter following objections from his supporters.

Message Details

A group of Epstein-connected emails made public by the Congressional committee days ago included several well-known personalities in the billionaire's former circle, without implying any criminal activity by those people.

The messages indicated that the economist and the financier often met for meals, with the billionaire often attempting to connect the official to notable world leaders.

Personal Accountability

After the correspondence were made available with the general audience, Summers said he accepted "full responsibility for my poor choice to continue interacting with the financier".

He continued that he hoped "to rebuild faith and mend relationships with the people most important to me".

Career Background

The professor occupied senior posts under Democratic administrations; serving as economic leader under Bill Clinton, and as head of the White House economic team under Barack Obama.

He led Harvard from 2001 to 2006 and is still a academic there. When stating his departure from public roles earlier on this week, he stated he would maintain his educational duties.

Additional Consequences

Following his announcement on earlier this week, the Center for American Progress, a progressive research organization in the capital where Summers was a researcher, announced that Summers was no longer associated with the organization.

The former official joined the directorate of the technology firm, which creates ChatGPT, in last year - following a unsuccessful effort to remove its CEO OpenAI's head.