In a significant development, former Harvard University President and ex-U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers announced he plans to withdraw from public engagements. This decision follows the emergence of emails revealing his continued cordial association with Jeffrey Epstein, even after Epstein’s 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor.

Summers communicated his intentions in a statement distributed to The Harvard Crimson and various media outlets on Monday. He expressed his desire to “rebuild trust and repair relationships with those closest to me.”

“I am deeply ashamed of my actions and recognize the pain they have caused. I take full responsibility for my misguided decision to continue communicating with Mr. Epstein,” Summers stated, acknowledging the impact of his choices.

Despite stepping back from public commitments, Summers affirmed his plans to continue teaching. According to his website, he is currently involved in instructing multiple economics courses at Harvard.

Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide in a Manhattan jail in 2019 while he was awaiting trial on charges of sexually abusing and trafficking underage girls.

Emails made public last week showed many in Epstein’s vast network of wealthy and influential friends continued to stay in touch long after his 2008 guilty plea.

A 2019 email to Epstein showed Summers discussing interactions he had with a woman, writing that “I said what are you up to. She said ‘I’m busy’. I said awfully coy u are.”

Epstein, who often wrote with spelling and grammatical errors, replied, “you reacted well.. annoyed shows caring. , no whining showed strentgh.”

When asked about the emails last week, Summers issued a statement saying he has “great regrets in my life” and that his association with Epstein was a “major error in judgement.”

Summers served as treasury secretary from 1999 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He was Harvard’s president for five years from 2001 to 2006. He is currently a professor and is a director of the school’s Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government.