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Ex-Treasury chief the Harvard professor is leaving the board at OpenAI, just a week after a batch of electronic messages between him and notorious criminal Jeffrey Epstein became publicly available.

He commented in an announcement that he was "thankful for the opportunity to have participated, enthusiastic about the potential of the company, and anticipate observing their development".

The former Harvard president, who previously presided over the Ivy League institution, declared on Monday that he would be scaling back from public commitments due to his association with Epstein.

Email Communications

The freshly disclosed messages demonstrated that the economist corresponded with Epstein until the eve of his 2019 apprehension for accused trafficking of underage individuals.

In another announcement, the artificial intelligence company stated it accepted Summers' decision to step down.

"We acknowledge his many contributions and the viewpoint he offered to the governing body," the company stated.

Congressional Action

This announcement comes after both chambers of the US legislature voted on Tuesday to endorse a measure that would require the US justice department to release its documents on the case.

The bill will afterward proceed to the administration of US President Donald Trump for approval. Trump has said he plans to sign the measure, after modifying his stance on the subject following pressure from his followers.

Message Details

A collection of financier-linked correspondence released by the House Oversight Committee days ago referenced several prominent individuals in the financier's former circle, without implying any criminal activity by those people.

The emails showed that Summers and Epstein often met for meals, with Epstein often attempting to introduce the official to influential international personalities.

Personal Response

After the emails were made available with the public, Summers expressed he accepted "total ownership for my ill-advised decision to persist in interacting with Jeffrey Epstein".

He added that he hoped "to restore faith and mend connections with the individuals most important to me".

Previous Positions

Summers held high-level positions under two Democratic presidents; serving as Treasury chief under Bill Clinton, and as head of the National Economic Council under President Obama.

He led Harvard from 2001 to 2006 and remains a faculty member there. When stating his step-down from public duties earlier on Monday, he said he would maintain his teaching commitments.

Further Repercussions

Following his statement on earlier this week, the policy organization, a liberal policy institute in Washington where he was a prominent member, confirmed that the economist was not connected with the organization.

He joined the leadership of OpenAI, which creates the language model, in the previous year - following a unsuccessful effort to oust its chief executive the company leader.