Larry Summers resigns from prestigious OpenAI role as Epstein email scandal gains momentum

OpenAI board member Larry Summers – whose name has been linked to the recently released Epstein emails – announced he was stepping down from the prestigious AI governance role on Wednesday.

The former US Treasury Secretary (under President Bill Clinton) and Harvard University President Emeritus released a statement announcing the move in tandem with OpenAI, as first reported by Axios.

“In line with my announcement to step away from my public commitments, I have also decided to resign from the board of OpenAI. I am grateful for the opportunity to have served, excited about the potential of the company, and look forward to following their progress," Summers said in a statement to Axios.

Summers had served as an OpenAI director on the now eight-member non-profit "OpenAI Foundation" since November 2023, following the board's infamous, and yet temporary, ousting of CEO and co-founder Sam Altman over the ethical direction of the AI start-up and ChatGPT-maker.

Just last week, the Trump Administration, after much political pressure from both sides of the aisle, allowed the US House Oversight Committee to release roughly 20,000 documents as part of the notorious Epstein files.

The redacted packet, consisting of email communications between the convicted sex offender and numerous high-profile individuals – including President Trump himself – shows that Summers regularly engaged in conversations with Epstein via email over several years.

Numerous conversations

The emails in question, from 2017 through 2019, show Summers and Epstein “bantered over various topics, including commenting on the intelligence of women in general and frequently discussing Mr. Trump,” the New York Times reported.

In another exchange with "jeffrey E.," Summers appeared to be seeking love advice from the late Epstein about a relationship he was pursuing with an unnamed female mentee, a piece by The Harvard Crimson revealed this week. The email refers to Epstein as Summers' "wing man."

The woman is rumored to be macroeconomist and 2004 Harvard graduate, Keyu Jin, a tenured professor at the London School of Economics.

Apparently, the long-time friends also spent time together in the air, the Crimson states.

Summers was said to have traveled on Epstein’s private plane on “at least four occasions” – including at least three times during the five years he was president of Harvard, starting in 2001.

Harvard on Wednesday said it would be launching an investigation into any individuals connected to the school and mentioned in the emails.

Although the University spokesperson did not specifically name Summers as part of the investigation, the former Harvard president was still technically a professor at the school and reportedly apologized to students before teaching his economics class earlier this week.

The New York Times reported on Wednesday that Summers has indeed stepped down from his teaching role at the University, as well.

Summers shown the door

In light of the coming revelations, Summers had announced the step back from public commitments on Monday, "to rebuild trust and repair relationships with the people closest to me."

"Larry has decided to resign from the OpenAI Board of Directors, and we respect his decision. We appreciate his many contributions and the perspective he brought to the Board." OpenAI’s remaining board of directors said in its statement to Axios.

Since the email exposure, many Congress members have also been clamoring for any private organizations and public institutions still working with Summers to cut ties immediately.

Summers on Wednesday also tendered his resignation to Santander's international advisory board, which advises the Spanish banking giant on digital transformation, cybersecurity, and new technologies.

The 70-year-old economist had served as a board member there since 2016, including during a 2024 data breach at the financial group last May, which exposed the information of thousands of Santander US-based employees. Days later, the hacking collective Shiny Hunters also claimed to have the data of 30 million Santander banking customers.

Since Monday, Summers has additionally stepped down from public roles at the Center for Global Development, the Peterson Institute for International Economics, the Budget Lab at Yale, and the Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution, the New York Times said.

The Times also noted on Wednesday that the paper will not renew Summers’ contract as a contributing writer for its Opinion section.

---

Unlock more exclusive Cybernews content on YouTube.