Larry Summers speaks at the New Work Summit in Half Moon Bay, California, in 2019. Getty Images
Larry Summers, a well-known economist and Harvard professor, said he will pull back from public roles after newly released emails showed ongoing contact with Jeffrey Epstein. Lawmakers released the messages last week. They revealed that Epstein, a convicted sex offender, called himself Summers’ “wing man.”
Summers said he regrets his actions. “I am deeply ashamed of my actions and recognize the pain they have caused,” he said in a statement. He added that he accepts full responsibility and will step away from public commitments while he continues teaching. He said he hopes to rebuild trust and repair ties with people close to him.
Pressure Grows Across the Political Spectrum
Calls for institutions to distance themselves from Summers grew quickly. A senior think-tank confirmed that Summers ended his role as a “distinguished senior fellow.”
Lawmakers from both major parties told media outlets that companies and universities should cut ties with him. Senator Elizabeth Warren said Summers showed “monumentally bad judgment” in keeping a long relationship with Epstein. She added that someone who failed to distance himself from a known sex offender should not advise national leaders or teach students.
Emails Show Years of Contact
The newly released documents showed that Epstein kept in touch with many people in business, media, and politics long after his 2008 conviction. Messages between Summers and Epstein ran from 2013 to 2019. They discussed personal matters, politics, and even romantic issues.
In one message, Epstein told Summers how to reply to a woman. Summers wrote: “Think no response for a while probably appropriate.” Epstein answered, “she’s already beginning to sound needy :) nice.”
In another email, Summers wrote: “I’m trying to figure why [the] American elite think if u murder your baby by beating and abandonment it must be irrelevant to your admission to Harvard … DO NOT REPEAT THIS INSIGHT.”
Summers later said he deeply regretted the correspondence, telling the Harvard Crimson that his connection with Epstein was “a major error of judgment.”
New Investigation Opens
A new federal inquiry now looks into Summers’ ties to Epstein. The president ordered the attorney general to investigate several names linked to documents released last week. Those files suggested that many high-profile figures had closer ties to Epstein than previously known.
Strong Reactions at Harvard
The released emails caused anger among faculty members. A statistics professor told the student paper that the messages showed “disgusting and disgraceful” behaviour.
Summers already faced criticism years earlier. He lost his position as Harvard’s president in 2006 after comments about women in academia. The latest revelations renewed debate about his influence and judgment.
Long Relationship Draws Scrutiny
Reports from 2023 showed that Summers even asked Epstein for help raising $1 million for his wife’s poetry project in 2014. The newly released emails add more details to a relationship that lasted well after Epstein’s crimes were public.
Summers said he now aims to rebuild trust. He said he will keep fulfilling his teaching duties but step away from his other roles for the foreseeable future.
