Larry Summers, the former Harvard University president and ex-Treasury secretary, has issued a public apology and announced his retreat from public engagements after correspondence with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein became public.
“I am deeply ashamed of my actions and recognise the pain they have caused. I take full responsibility for my misguided decision to continue communicating with Mr. Epstein,” Summers stated in remarks published by CBS News on Monday. The economist indicated he would maintain his teaching responsibilities while stepping back from external commitments as part of his “broader effort to rebuild trust and repair relationships with the people closest to me.”
The controversial emails emerged within approximately 20,000 pages of materials from Epstein’s estate, released last week by the United States House Committee on Oversight amid continuing scrutiny of the disgraced financier’s connections to President Donald Trump and other influential figures.
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Epstein died by suicide in August 2019 while facing federal sex trafficking charges. He had previously served only 13 months following a 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor. The correspondence between Summers and Epstein spanned from at least 2017 through 2019, covering topics from American foreign policy to personal matters.
One 2017 email shows Summers advising Epstein that billionaire Thomas Barrack Jr should avoid media attention following reports about his ties to Trump and political operative Paul Manafort. “Public link to manafort will be a disaster,” Summers wrote. A December 2018 message reveals Summers requesting Epstein’s help securing an invitation to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Summers served as Treasury secretary under President Bill Clinton and advised President Barack Obama. His Harvard presidency from 2001 to 2006 ended after controversial remarks suggesting biological factors explained women’s underrepresentation in mathematics and sciences. The newly disclosed emails indicate Summers maintained similar perspectives years later, including an October 2017 message to Epstein about women and intelligence quotients.
Additional correspondence from late 2018 contains extended discussion between the two men concerning Summers’ pursuit of a relationship with a female colleague, with the then-mid-60s economist describing the woman as “Smart. Assertive and clear. Gorgeous.”