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Former US treasury secretary Larry Summers is departing from the directorate at the ChatGPT creator, just a week after a series of electronic messages between him and deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein became public.

Summers remarked in a statement that he was "appreciative for the opportunity to have contributed, enthusiastic about the prospects of the company, and eagerly await tracking their advancement".

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

Message Exchange

The recently released messages revealed that Summers communicated with Jeffrey Epstein until the eve of Epstein's 2019 apprehension for alleged trafficking of minors.

In additional comments, the AI firm said it understood Summers' determination to step down.

"We value his numerous inputs and the viewpoint he provided to the Board," the organization remarked.

Political Context

This development comes after the entire Congress of the legislative branch voted on Tuesday to endorse a measure that would require the federal prosecutors to make public its files on the case.

The legislation will then proceed to the administration of President Trump for signature. He has said he plans to approve the measure, after reversing his stance on the issue following objections from his followers.

Message Details

A collection of Epstein-related messages released by the Congressional committee last week included numerous prominent individuals in the financier's former circle, without suggesting any illegal behavior by those people.

The messages showed that the professor and the financier often met for meals, with the billionaire often trying to link Summers to influential global figures.

Individual Statement

After the messages were made available with the public, the former official expressed he took "complete accountability for my ill-advised decision to continue interacting with Mr Epstein".

He continued that he desired "to reestablish faith and mend relationships with the individuals closest to me".

Professional History

The economist occupied high-level positions under two Democratic presidents; functioning as economic leader under the former president, and as head of the White House economic team under Barack Obama.

He led the university from 2001 to 2006 and continues to be a faculty member there. When declaring his step-down from public commitments previously on Monday, he stated he would persist with his academic responsibilities.

Other Impacts

Following Summers' statement on Monday, the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning policy institute in DC where Summers was a senior fellow, verified that the economist was no longer affiliated with the group.

Summers became part of the board of the technology firm, which develops ChatGPT, in the previous year - following a defeated move to replace its CEO the company leader.