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Former US treasury secretary Lawrence Summers is leaving the directorate at the artificial intelligence firm, just a week after a batch of electronic messages between him and late convicted sex offender the accused trafficker became publicly available.

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

The prominent academic, who once presided over the Ivy League institution, announced on earlier this week that he would be stepping back from public responsibilities due to his relationship with Epstein.

Message Exchange

The freshly disclosed emails demonstrated that the official exchanged messages with Epstein until the eve of the financier's 2019 apprehension for suspected trafficking of underage individuals.

In another announcement, the technology organization expressed it respected his determination to depart.

"We acknowledge his numerous inputs and the viewpoint he brought to the Board," the organization stated.

Political Context

This announcement comes after the two houses of the US legislature agreed on this week to endorse a measure that would compel the US justice department to disclose its files on Jeffrey Epstein.

The legislation will subsequently proceed to the administration of US President Donald Trump for endorsement. The President has said he intends to approve the measure, after reversing his view on the matter following pressure from his supporters.

Email Contents

A batch of financier-linked emails released by the House Oversight Committee recently referenced several high-profile figures in the financier's previous network, without implying any criminal activity by those people.

The messages showed that the professor and Epstein often met for meals, with he often attempting to link the official to prominent global figures.

Individual Statement

After the emails were shared with the public, he expressed he took "full responsibility for my misguided decision to continue corresponding with Mr Epstein".

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

Previous Positions

The economist held high-level positions under Democratic administrations; serving as economic leader under Bill Clinton, and as head of the White House economic team under the former leader.

He presided over Harvard from the early 2000s and continues to be a academic there. When stating his withdrawal from public roles previously on Monday, he said he would continue his educational duties.

Additional Consequences

Following Summers' declaration on Monday, the Center for American Progress, a progressive policy institute in Washington where the professor was a prominent member, confirmed that Summers was no longer connected with the organization.

Summers became part of the directorate of OpenAI, which develops the AI chatbot, in the previous year - following a defeated move to replace its CEO the company leader.