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One-time economic leader the Harvard professor is leaving the board at the artificial intelligence firm, just a week after a collection of electronic messages between him and notorious criminal Jeffrey Epstein became public.

The economist stated in a statement that he was "grateful for the chance to have contributed, enthusiastic about the promise of the enterprise, and eagerly await following their development".

Summers, who formerly led Harvard University, stated on earlier this week that he would be stepping back from public commitments due to his connections with the convicted sex offender.

Digital Correspondence

The freshly disclosed emails revealed that Summers communicated with Jeffrey Epstein until the day before the financier's 2019 apprehension for accused human trafficking of young people.

In another announcement, the artificial intelligence company stated it accepted the economist's choice to step down.

"We acknowledge his numerous inputs and the perspective he brought to the Board," the organization remarked.

Legislative Background

This development follows after both chambers of the legislative branch voted on recently to pass a legislation that would compel the Department of Justice to release its records on Epstein.

The bill will subsequently head to the administration of President Trump for signature. He has stated he plans to sign the bill, after modifying his stance on the subject following objections from his base.

Email Contents

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

The communications revealed that the economist and Jeffrey Epstein regularly had dinners together, with the billionaire often attempting to introduce the official to notable global figures.

Personal Response

After the messages were made available with the public, he expressed he assumed "full responsibility for my misguided judgment to maintain communicating with the financier".

He further stated that he wanted "to rebuild faith and fix connections with the individuals closest to me".

Professional History

Summers served in high-level positions under Democratic administrations; acting as treasury secretary under President Clinton, and as leader of the White House economic team under the former leader.

He presided over the university from five years and continues to be a academic there. When stating his departure from public commitments earlier on Monday, he said he would persist with his educational duties.

Further Repercussions

Following Summers' announcement on Monday, the policy organization, a liberal research organization in Washington where the professor was a senior fellow, announced that the economist was not connected with the institution.

The former official joined the board of OpenAI, which creates the AI chatbot, in last year - following a defeated move to oust its top executive the company leader.