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One-time economic leader the Harvard professor is departing from the governing body at the ChatGPT creator, just several days after a series of electronic messages between him and notorious criminal Jeffrey Epstein became widely known.

Summers stated in a release that he was "grateful for the opportunity to have served, optimistic about the promise of the company, and look forward tracking their advancement".

Summers, who once presided over the prestigious university, stated on Monday that he would be scaling back from public roles due to his relationship with the convicted sex offender.

Email Communications

The recently released emails demonstrated that the official corresponded with the financier until the 24 hours preceding Epstein's 2019 arrest for suspected sex trafficking of underage individuals.

In another announcement, the artificial intelligence company expressed it accepted the economist's choice to depart.

"We acknowledge his numerous inputs and the perspective he offered to the directors," the organization commented.

Congressional Action

This announcement follows after the two houses of the US legislature agreed on Tuesday to pass a measure that would mandate the Department of Justice to make public its documents on Jeffrey Epstein.

The measure will afterward move to the office of President Trump for approval. The President has said he plans to approve the measure, after changing his position on the matter following pressure from his followers.

Email Contents

A collection of financier-linked messages released by the House Oversight Committee recently referenced several prominent individuals in the Epstein's former circle, without implying any illegal behavior by those individuals.

The messages showed that the professor and Epstein regularly had dinners together, with he often trying to introduce the official to influential international personalities.

Personal Accountability

After the emails were shared with the wider community, the former official expressed he assumed "full responsibility for my misguided decision to continue interacting with Mr Epstein".

He continued that he hoped "to reestablish confidence and mend bonds with the persons nearest to me".

Previous Positions

Summers held senior posts under party leaders; acting as treasury secretary under President Clinton, and as head of the National Economic Council under President Obama.

He presided over the institution from the early 2000s and is still a academic there. When stating his departure from public commitments previously on this week, he indicated he would persist with his academic responsibilities.

Additional Consequences

Following his announcement on Monday, the Washington think tank, a progressive policy institute in DC where he was a researcher, confirmed that Summers was ceased to be connected with the institution.

He became part of the leadership of OpenAI, which creates the language model, in 2023 - following a defeated move to replace its top executive Sam Altman.