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Ex-Treasury chief the Harvard professor is departing from the board at the artificial intelligence firm, just several days after a series of emails between him and notorious criminal Jeffrey Epstein became widely known.

Summers remarked in a release that he was "grateful for the chance to have contributed, optimistic about the promise of the company, and look forward following their advancement".

The former Harvard president, who previously headed the Ivy League institution, announced on recently that he would be withdrawing from public roles due to his connections with the convicted sex offender.

Message Exchange

The recently released messages revealed that the economist communicated with Epstein until the eve of Epstein's 2019 apprehension for accused sex trafficking of minors.

In additional comments, the artificial intelligence company said it accepted the economist's decision to resign.

"We appreciate his many contributions and the viewpoint he provided to the governing body," the organization commented.

Congressional Action

This news comes after both chambers of the legislative branch voted on this week to endorse a measure that would mandate the US justice department to make public its records on Epstein.

The bill will afterward proceed to the desk of the White House for signature. He has indicated he plans to sign the bill, after changing his view on the matter following pressure from his base.

Email Contents

A collection of financier-linked messages made public by the House Oversight Committee days ago referenced multiple high-profile figures in the Epstein's former circle, without suggesting any legal wrongdoing by those figures.

The emails indicated that Summers and the financier regularly had dinners together, with Epstein often seeking to connect the official to notable international personalities.

Individual Statement

After the messages were shared with the public, he said he accepted "complete accountability for my misguided judgment to continue communicating with the financier".

He added that he desired "to reestablish faith and repair connections with the individuals most important to me".

Previous Positions

The professor served in high-level positions under two Democratic presidents; functioning as treasury secretary under Bill Clinton, and as head of the economic advisory body under President Obama.

He headed Harvard from five years and is still a academic there. When declaring his departure from public duties previously on this week, he indicated he would continue his teaching commitments.

Further Repercussions

Following the economist's declaration on Monday, the policy organization, a progressive policy institute in the capital where the professor was a senior fellow, confirmed that he was not affiliated with the organization.

The former official became part of the directorate of OpenAI, which creates the language model, in last year - following a defeated move to oust its chief executive Sam Altman.