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Former US treasury secretary Lawrence Summers is leaving the board at OpenAI, just several days after a batch of emails between him and deceased financier the disgraced billionaire became widely known.

Summers stated in a statement that he was "grateful for the chance to have participated, enthusiastic about the prospects of the company, and eagerly await tracking their progress".

The prominent academic, who once led the Ivy League institution, announced on recently that he would be stepping back from public roles due to his relationship with the convicted sex offender.

Email Communications

The freshly disclosed messages demonstrated that the economist corresponded with Jeffrey Epstein until the day before his 2019 apprehension for alleged sex trafficking of young people.

In a separate statement, the technology organization said it understood the economist's choice to step down.

"We appreciate his numerous inputs and the insight he provided to the governing body," OpenAI commented.

Political Context

This development follows after the entire Congress of the US legislature decided on this week to endorse a bill that would compel the US justice department to release its documents on Jeffrey Epstein.

The measure will then move to the office of the White House for endorsement. The President has said he expects to sign the legislation, after modifying his position on the issue following pushback from his supporters.

Correspondence Findings

A batch of Epstein-connected messages made public by the legislative panel last week referenced numerous high-profile figures in the financier's past associates, without implying any criminal activity by those individuals.

The messages revealed that Summers and the financier dined together frequently, with Epstein often attempting to link the official to prominent world leaders.

Personal Response

After the messages were released with the public, he said he accepted "full responsibility for my poor decision to continue communicating with the financier".

He added that he hoped "to restore faith and fix bonds with the people most important to me".

Previous Positions

The professor held high-level positions under two Democratic presidents; acting as treasury secretary under the former president, and as head of the National Economic Council under President Obama.

He led Harvard from five years and continues to be a professor there. When stating his departure from public duties earlier on this week, he stated he would maintain his academic responsibilities.

Further Repercussions

Following his declaration on earlier this week, the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning research organization in DC where Summers was a researcher, confirmed that Summers was ceased to be associated with the institution.

He joined the leadership of the AI company, which makes the AI chatbot, in the previous year - following a failed attempt to oust its chief executive OpenAI's head.