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One-time economic leader the Harvard professor is departing from the directorate at OpenAI, just a week after a batch of digital correspondence between him and deceased financier the disgraced billionaire became widely known.

He remarked in a statement that he was "grateful for the chance to have contributed, excited about the potential of the organization, and look forward observing their development".

The former Harvard president, who once headed the Ivy League institution, announced on earlier this week that he would be scaling back from public responsibilities due to his connections with Epstein.

Message Exchange

The newly public messages showed that the official communicated with Epstein until the 24 hours preceding the financier's 2019 detention for suspected human trafficking of underage individuals.

In a separate statement, the technology organization said it respected his choice to step down.

"We appreciate his significant contributions and the insight he offered to the directors," the company stated.

Political Context

This development arrives after both chambers of Congress voted on this week to approve a legislation that would compel the Department of Justice to make public its files on Jeffrey Epstein.

The legislation will afterward proceed to the administration of President Trump for endorsement. The President has indicated he expects to approve the legislation, after modifying his stance on the subject following pressure from his base.

Email Contents

A group of financier-linked emails disclosed by the Congressional committee last week included multiple prominent individuals in the billionaire's previous network, without suggesting any criminal activity by those people.

The messages showed that the professor and the financier often met for meals, with he often attempting to connect the official to influential international personalities.

Personal Response

After the messages were made available with the general audience, he expressed he accepted "total ownership for my ill-advised judgment to continue corresponding with Mr Epstein".

He continued that he wanted "to rebuild trust and repair bonds with the individuals closest to me".

Career Background

The economist occupied senior posts under two Democratic presidents; acting as treasury secretary under President Clinton, and as director of the White House economic team under President Obama.

He led the institution from the early 2000s and is still a faculty member there. When stating his departure from public duties recently on this week, he indicated he would maintain his academic responsibilities.

Other Impacts

Following Summers' statement on earlier this week, the Washington think tank, a progressive think tank in Washington where the professor was a researcher, confirmed that the economist was ceased to be affiliated with the group.

Summers became part of the board of the AI company, which develops the AI chatbot, in last year - following a unsuccessful effort to oust its CEO OpenAI's head.