Harvard’s Larry Summers Resigns Amid Controversy Linked to Epstein Scandal

On Wednesday, Harvard University announced that Larry Summers will be stepping down from his teaching roles at the end of the current academic year. Summers, who is notably recognized for his academic contributions, will relinquish his prestigious University Professorship—Harvard’s highest academic honor.

The decision marks the end of an era for the economist, who has described the choice to leave as “difficult,” as reported by the Harvard Crimson. Although Summers did not provide specific reasons for his departure, recent controversies have surrounded him due to his connections with the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Summers’ relationship with Epstein has come under intense scrutiny following the release of a series of documents by the Department of Justice. These documents revealed email exchanges between Summers and Epstein, discussing various topics including politics and women. The correspondence continued up until Epstein’s final arrest in 2019, despite his earlier conviction for soliciting minors.

He did not give a reason for his departure, but he has been under intense scrutiny after a litany of documents concerning him and Epstein were released in the DOJ files.

They spoke about politics and women in the cache of emails – and Summers corresponded with Epstein up until his final arrest in 2019, years after his conviction for soliciting minors. 

Summers and his wife Lisa New visited Epstein’s Little Saint James island in December 2005 – just ten days after their wedding.

The honeymoon trip happened while Summers was still Harvard president, according to publicly available flight logs.

Summers’ visit was six months after Palm Beach police began investigating Epstein over the alleged rape of a 14-year-old girl.

The economist said the decision to leave the institution was ‘difficult.’ It comes after a cache of documents exposing his long-time friendship with Epstein was made public in the files

Summers spent part of his honeymoon in December 2005 visiting Epstein’s Little Saint James island 

A spokesperson for Summers previously said: ‘Mr. Summers and Ms. New spent their honeymoon in St. John and Jamaica in December 2005, which was long before Mr. Epstein was arrested for the first time.’

‘As part of that trip, they made a brief visit of less than a day to Mr. Epstein’s island.’

Summers will remain on leave, as he has been since November, until his resignation takes effect at the end of the academic year.

In the meantime, the former Treasury Secretary will not teach any classes or take on new advisees at the university.

Harvard spokesman Jason Newton told the Daily Mail that Summers’ decision to step down was ‘in connection with the ongoing review by the University of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein that were recently released by the government.’

Harvard Kennedy School Dean Jeremy Weinstein accepted Summers’ resignation. 

Emails released by House lawmakers showed that Summers maintained a cozy relationship with Epstein even after he became a convicted sex offender.

In one exchange, Summers asked Epstein for advice on ‘getting horizontal’ with a woman whom the Harvard figure once described as a mentee.

Summers and Epstein were pictured with former Barclays chief executive Jes Staley and Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates

Summers, a former US Treasury Secretary, also dined with Epstein and Alan Dershowitz in 2004 at Harvard

‘I dint [sic] want to be in a gift giving competition while being the friend without benefits,’ he wrote.

At one point, Epstein cracked that he was a ‘pretty good wing man.’

Epstein pleaded guilty to procuring a child for prostitution in 2008, but the emails showed that Summers remained in touch with the convicted sex offender up until his July 2019 arrest.

One day before Epstein was taken into custody by federal authorities at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, Summers shared with him that he was in Cape Cod with family.

‘Bit of an Ibsen play,’ Summers messaged Epstein.

In response to the emails, Summers said in November that he was ‘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,’ he said.

Summers’ wife New also emailed back and forth with Epstein, according to the files released by the House Oversight Committee. 

In one correspondence, New recommended him a book ‘about a man whose whole life is stamped forever by his impression of a young girl.’ 

An undated photo released by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee showed Summers, his wife Elisa New and Woody Allen on an airplane

Summers was president of Harvard from 2001 until 2006 after working for Bill Clinton’s administration as the Treasury Secretary. 

Summers called his decision to step down from Ivy League university ‘difficult,’ according to The Harvard Crimson.

The veteran economist said he remained ‘grateful to the thousands of students and colleagues I have been privileged to teach and work with since coming to Harvard as a graduate student 50 years ago.’

Summers previously announced in November that he was also resigning from the OpenAI board in wake of his ties to Epstein.

In December, the American Economic Association banned him for life due to his relationship with the dead pedophile. 

The Daily Mail has reached out to Summers for further comment.