Former Harvard President Summers to leave university over Epstein ties

By Yasin Gungor

ISTANBUL (AA) - Former Harvard University President Larry Summers is set to leave the university at the end of the academic year, following revelations of his ties to the late convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, the Harvard Crimson reported Wednesday.

Summers is stepping down from all academic and faculty appointments and resigned as co-director of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School.

The former US treasury secretary will relinquish his university professorship and remain on leave through the end of the academic year, with no teaching duties or new advisees during that period.

In a statement to The Crimson, Summers described the decision as "difficult" but said he looked forward to continuing work on global economic issues as a retired professor.

The departure follows a Harvard investigation launched in November into Summers' relationship with Epstein. The university placed him on leave at the time, after previously undisclosed communications between the two came to light. Emails showed Summers had repeatedly sought Epstein's guidance in pursuing a woman he described as his mentee, with Epstein referring to himself as the economist's "wing man."

Summers had also resigned from OpenAI's board following backlash over the revelations.

He served as the US treasury secretary under former President Bill Clinton and advised former President Barack Obama. Epstein died in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.