Harvard reopens probe into Larry Summers after release of Epstein emails

Harvard University has reopened an investigation into connections between former President Larry Summers and Jeffrey Epstein, a university spokesman said on Wednesday, and Summers’ office said he would resign from the board of OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT.

The university did not mention Summers by name, but the decision to restart the probe follows the release of emails showing that Summers, a former Treasury secretary, maintained a friendly relationship 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,” spokesman Jason Newton said in a statement first reported by The Boston Globe and The Harvard Crimson.

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 centre 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 on Tuesday that he would step back from public commitments. His office said on Wednesday that that included resigning from the board of directors of OpenAI.