Regarded as a leading voice on the U.S. economy, Summers was also affiliated with multiple think tanks, research centers and media organizations, including The New York Times. Several of them confirmed that those affiliations have ended.
Harvard did not mention Summers by name, but the decision to restart the probe follows the release of emails showing that he was friendly with Epstein long after the financier pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution from an underage girl in 2008.
“The University is conducting a review of information concerning individuals at Harvard included in the newly released Jeffrey Epstein documents to evaluate what actions may be warranted,” spokesperson Jason Newton said in a statement first reported by The Boston Globe and The Harvard Crimson.
Messages appear to seek advice about romantic relationship
The emails include messages in which Summers appeared to be getting advice from Epstein about pursuing a romantic relationship with someone who viewed him as an “economic mentor.”
“im a pretty good wing man , no?” Epstein wrote on Nov. 30, 2018.
The next day, Summers told Epstein he had texted the woman, telling her he “had something brief to say to her.”
“Am I thanking her or being sorry re my being married. I think the former,” he wrote.
Summers’ wife, Elisa New, also emailed Epstein multiple times, including a 2015 message in which she thanked him for arranging financial support for a poetry project she directs. The gift he arranged “changed everything for me,” she wrote.
"It really means a lot to me, all financial help aside, Jeffrey, that you are rooting for me and thinking about me,” she wrote.
New, an English professor emerita at Harvard, did not respond to an email seeking comment Wednesday.
An earlier review completed in 2020 found that Epstein visited Harvard’s campus more than 40 times after his 2008 sex-crimes conviction and was given his own office and unfettered access to a research center he helped establish. The professor who provided the office was later barred from starting new research or advising students for at least two years.
Summers said late Monday that he would step back from public commitments. His office said Wednesday that his plans include resigning from the board of directors 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,” he said in a statement.
The OpenAI board said it appreciated Summers’ contributions.
Summers joined the OpenAI board in November 2023 as part of an effort to restore stability at the nonprofit and bring back its CEO, Sam Altman, after previous board members fired Altman days earlier.
Summers appears before Harvard class
On Tuesday, Summers appeared before his class at Harvard, where he teaches “The Political Economy of Globalization” to undergraduates with Robert Lawrence, a professor with the Harvard Kennedy School.
“Some of you will have seen my statement of regret expressing my shame with respect to what I did in communication with Mr. Epstein and that I’ve said that I’m going to step back from public activities for a while. But I think it’s very important to fulfill my teaching obligations," he said.
Summers' remarks were captured on video by several students, but no one appeared to publicly respond to his comments.
Epstein, who authorities said died by suicide in 2019, was a convicted sex offender infamous for his connections to wealthy and powerful people, making him a fixture of outrage and conspiracy theories about wrongdoing among American elites.
Summers served as treasury secretary from 1999 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He was Harvard’s president for five years from 2001 to 2006. When asked about the emails last week, Summers issued a statement saying he has “great regrets in my life” and that his association with Epstein was a “major error in judgement.”
Other organizations that confirmed the end of their affiliations with Summers included the Center for American Progress, the Center for Global Development and the Budget Lab at Yale University. Bloomberg TV said Summers’ withdrawal from public commitments included his role as a paid contributor, and the New York Times said it will not renew his contract as a contributing opinion writer.
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This story has been corrected to show that Summers' statement about stepping back from public commitments was issued late Monday, not Tuesday.