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Ex-Treasury chief Lawrence Summers is leaving the board at the ChatGPT creator, just several days after a batch of emails between him and notorious criminal Jeffrey Epstein became publicly available.

He commented in an announcement that he was "appreciative for the opportunity to have participated, optimistic about the promise of the enterprise, and look forward observing their progress".

Summers, who formerly presided over the Ivy League institution, stated on earlier this week that he would be withdrawing from public roles due to his connections with Jeffrey Epstein.

Digital Correspondence

The freshly disclosed emails showed that the official exchanged messages with Epstein until the eve of his 2019 detention for suspected trafficking of underage individuals.

In additional comments, the AI firm said it respected the economist's determination to depart.

"We appreciate his significant contributions and the insight he provided to the Board," OpenAI stated.

Congressional Action

This development follows after the two houses of the US legislature agreed on Tuesday to endorse a measure that would compel the Department of Justice to release its files on Epstein.

The measure will subsequently move to the administration of US President Donald Trump for signature. Trump has indicated he intends to endorse the bill, after modifying his view on the issue following pressure from his base.

Email Contents

A collection of Epstein-related messages made public by the Congressional committee days ago included numerous prominent individuals in the Epstein's former circle, without suggesting any criminal activity by those people.

The communications indicated that the professor and Jeffrey Epstein regularly had dinners together, with the billionaire often seeking to connect the official to influential international personalities.

Personal Accountability

After the messages were released with the public, Summers said he took "complete accountability for my misguided decision to continue communicating with Mr Epstein".

He added that he desired "to restore confidence and repair connections with the persons closest to me".

Career Background

The economist held high-level positions under two Democratic presidents; acting as economic leader under President Clinton, and as director of the economic advisory body under President Obama.

He led Harvard from the early 2000s and is still a faculty member there. When declaring his departure from public duties previously on Monday, he said he would continue his educational duties.

Further Repercussions

Following Summers' announcement on Monday, the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning policy institute in Washington where he was a senior fellow, announced that the economist was no longer connected with the group.

Summers joined the directorate of OpenAI, which develops ChatGPT, in last year - following a failed attempt to remove its CEO OpenAI's head.