Larry Summers, an associate of Jeffrey Epstein, will step down from his Harvard University professorship due to his ties to the late convicted sex offender, a university spokesperson said.
Summers, 71, who previously visited Epstein’s private island and flew on his jet known as the “Lolita Express,” will leave his academic and faculty roles at Harvard at the end of the academic year, according to the Harvard Crimson.
The former Harvard president also resigned Wednesday as co-director of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at Harvard Kennedy School after serving in the role for 15 years, the spokesperson confirmed.
Describing the decision as difficult, the former U.S. Treasury secretary said he remains grateful to the many students and colleagues he has worked with since arriving at Harvard as a graduate student five decades ago.
“Free of formal responsibilities, as President Emeritus and a retired professor, I look forward to continuing research, analysis and commentary on global economic issues,” he said in a statement.
Summers — a longtime associate of Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton — has seen his reputation sharply decline following the November release of extensive communications between him and Epstein
The former Harvard president also resigned on Wednesday as co-director of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School.
A 2011 photograph shows (from left) James Staley, also known as Jes Staley, Lawrence Summers, Jeffrey Epstein, Bill Gates and Boris Nikolic at Epstein’s Manhattan residence.
Emails released by the U.S. Department of Justice indicate that Summers and Epstein frequently exchanged messages about women, political matters, and projects connected to Harvard.
Summers’ final known email exchange with Epstein occurred in July 2019 — one day before Epstein’s arrest and only weeks before the former Wall Street financier was discovered dead in his New York jail cell.