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One-time economic leader Lawrence Summers is leaving the board at OpenAI, just a week after a batch of digital correspondence between him and deceased financier the disgraced billionaire became widely known.

Summers commented in an announcement that he was "grateful for the privilege to have contributed, excited about the potential of the organization, and look forward observing their development".

The prominent academic, who formerly headed Harvard University, stated on Monday that he would be withdrawing from public roles due to his connections with Jeffrey Epstein.

Email Communications

The recently released messages revealed that the economist exchanged messages with Jeffrey Epstein until the eve of the financier's 2019 apprehension for alleged human trafficking of young people.

In additional comments, the technology organization said it understood the economist's decision to resign.

"We value his many contributions and the insight he brought to the governing body," the organization stated.

Congressional Action

This news arrives after both chambers of the US legislature voted on this week to approve a legislation that would require the federal prosecutors to disclose its records on Epstein.

The legislation will afterward move to the office of the White House for signature. The President has stated he intends to sign the measure, after modifying his position on the subject following objections from his followers.

Correspondence Findings

A group of financier-linked correspondence disclosed by the Congressional committee days ago included several well-known personalities in the financier's past associates, without indicating any criminal activity by those figures.

The messages showed that the economist and Epstein regularly had dinners together, with the billionaire often trying to introduce Summers to notable global figures.

Individual Statement

After the correspondence were shared with the wider community, the former official stated he accepted "full responsibility for my ill-advised judgment to continue interacting with the financier".

He added that he wanted "to rebuild trust and fix bonds with the people closest to me".

Professional History

The professor served in high-level positions under two Democratic presidents; acting as treasury secretary under Bill Clinton, and as director of the National Economic Council under Barack Obama.

He headed Harvard from the early 2000s and remains a academic there. When announcing his step-down from public duties earlier on this week, he indicated he would maintain his educational duties.

Additional Consequences

Following Summers' announcement on Monday, the policy organization, a progressive policy institute in Washington where the professor was a researcher, confirmed that Summers was ceased to be affiliated with the group.

Summers joined the leadership of OpenAI, which creates the language model, in the previous year - following a defeated move to oust its top executive the company leader.