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One-time economic leader Lawrence Summers is leaving the directorate at OpenAI, just a week after a collection of digital correspondence between him and late convicted sex offender the disgraced billionaire became publicly available.

Summers remarked in a release that he was "appreciative for the privilege to have contributed, enthusiastic about the potential of the company, and anticipate following their progress".

The prominent academic, who previously headed the prestigious university, stated on Monday that he would be stepping back from public commitments due to his connections with Epstein.

Message Exchange

The freshly disclosed emails revealed that Summers communicated with Jeffrey Epstein until the eve of Epstein's 2019 detention for suspected sex trafficking of underage individuals.

In another announcement, the artificial intelligence company expressed it respected the economist's decision to resign.

"We acknowledge his many contributions and the insight he provided to the directors," the company commented.

Congressional Action

This news arrives after both chambers of the US legislature voted on this week to endorse a measure that would require the US justice department to release its records on Jeffrey Epstein.

The bill will afterward head to the desk of President Trump for approval. He has said he plans to sign the measure, after changing his position on the subject following pressure from his followers.

Email Contents

A batch of financier-linked messages released by the legislative panel recently included multiple high-profile figures in the billionaire's past associates, without implying any criminal activity by those figures.

The messages revealed that the professor and Epstein dined together frequently, with he often trying to connect the official to influential international personalities.

Individual Statement

After the emails were released with the wider community, Summers stated he accepted "complete accountability for my misguided decision to maintain interacting with the financier".

He further stated that he hoped "to reestablish confidence and mend relationships with the people closest to me".

Previous Positions

The professor served in senior posts under party leaders; serving as Treasury chief under the former president, and as director of the National Economic Council under President Obama.

He presided over the university from five years and continues to be a faculty member there. When declaring his step-down from public roles previously on Monday, he said he would maintain his teaching commitments.

Other Impacts

Following Summers' announcement on Monday, the Center for American Progress, a liberal research organization in the capital where he was a senior fellow, confirmed that the economist was ceased to be affiliated with the institution.

The former official became part of the directorate of the technology firm, which makes the AI chatbot, in last year - following a defeated move to replace its top executive OpenAI's head.