Former Treasury Secretary and Harvard President Larry Summers said Monday he will step back from “public commitments” after messages between him and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were released last week.
“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 said in a statement. “While continuing to fulfill my teaching obligations, I will be stepping back from public commitments as one part of my broader effort to rebuild trust and repair relationships with the people closest to me.”
It’s not clear what public commitments Summers will call off. An economist by training, he has remained a professor at Harvard University since stepping down as the Ivy League school’s president in 2006. He currently teaches two classes at the Harvard Kennedy School on globalization and U.S. economic policy, according to the school’s course catalog.
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