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Former US treasury secretary the Harvard professor is departing from the directorate at the artificial intelligence firm, just a week after a collection of electronic messages between him and late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein became public.

He commented in an announcement that he was "appreciative for the opportunity to have served, excited about the prospects of the company, and look forward observing their progress".

Summers, who formerly presided over the prestigious university, announced on Monday that he would be withdrawing from public roles due to his relationship with the convicted sex offender.

Digital Correspondence

The newly public messages revealed that the official exchanged messages with Epstein until the eve of the financier's 2019 apprehension for suspected sex trafficking of young people.

In another announcement, the AI firm said it respected Summers' determination to resign.

"We acknowledge his numerous inputs and the insight he offered to the Board," the company commented.

Congressional Action

This news comes after both chambers of the US legislature agreed on recently to approve a legislation that would require the US justice department to disclose its documents on Jeffrey Epstein.

The legislation will then head to the desk of US President Donald Trump for signature. The President has said he plans to approve the measure, after reversing his stance on the subject following objections from his followers.

Message Details

A collection of Epstein-connected emails made public by the legislative panel recently mentioned numerous prominent individuals in the Epstein's former circle, without suggesting any illegal behavior by those individuals.

The communications showed that Summers and Epstein regularly had dinners together, with Epstein often trying to introduce Summers to influential world leaders.

Personal Response

After the emails were released with the wider community, he stated he accepted "complete accountability for my poor judgment to maintain communicating with Jeffrey Epstein".

He added that he wanted "to rebuild faith and mend connections with the people most important to me".

Previous Positions

The professor occupied high-level positions under party leaders; serving as economic leader under the former president, and as director of the White House economic team under President Obama.

He presided over the university from five years and continues to be a academic there. When announcing his departure from public commitments earlier on this week, he indicated he would persist with his academic responsibilities.

Additional Consequences

Following Summers' statement on earlier this week, the Center for American Progress, a liberal research organization in DC where the professor was a senior fellow, verified that the economist was not connected with the institution.

Summers entered the leadership of the AI company, which develops the language model, in last year - following a failed attempt to oust its top executive Sam Altman.