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One-time economic leader Lawrence Summers is leaving the directorate at the ChatGPT creator, just a week after a batch of electronic messages between him and late convicted sex offender the disgraced billionaire became publicly available.

Summers stated in an announcement that he was "thankful for the chance to have participated, optimistic about the promise of the organization, and look forward following their development".

The former Harvard president, who formerly headed the Ivy League institution, announced on earlier this week that he would be withdrawing from public commitments due to his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

Digital Correspondence

The freshly disclosed messages showed that Summers exchanged messages with Epstein until the 24 hours preceding Epstein's 2019 arrest for accused sex trafficking of minors.

In another announcement, the artificial intelligence company said it understood his choice to step down.

"We acknowledge his many contributions and the insight he brought to the governing body," the company remarked.

Congressional Action

This announcement follows after both chambers of the US legislature voted on Tuesday to approve a legislation that would mandate the federal prosecutors to disclose its records on Epstein.

The bill will subsequently head to the administration of President Trump for signature. Trump has stated he expects to approve the legislation, after reversing his position on the issue following objections from his base.

Message Details

A group of Epstein-connected messages made public by the legislative panel recently referenced numerous prominent individuals in the Epstein's former circle, without implying any legal wrongdoing by those figures.

The messages showed that the professor and Jeffrey Epstein regularly had dinners together, with he often trying to link Summers to notable international personalities.

Personal Accountability

After the correspondence were made available with the public, he stated he took "complete accountability for my poor judgment to maintain interacting with Jeffrey Epstein".

He continued that he wanted "to reestablish faith and fix bonds with the individuals most important to me".

Career Background

The economist served in high-level positions under Democratic administrations; acting as economic leader under President Clinton, and as leader of the economic advisory body under the former leader.

He headed the institution from 2001 to 2006 and remains a academic there. When stating his departure from public roles previously on this week, he stated he would maintain his educational duties.

Additional Consequences

Following Summers' announcement on earlier this week, the Washington think tank, a liberal think tank in DC where the professor was a researcher, confirmed that Summers was not associated with the institution.

The former official joined the leadership of the technology firm, which makes ChatGPT, in 2023 - following a unsuccessful effort to remove its top executive Sam Altman.