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Former US treasury secretary Lawrence Summers is departing from the board at OpenAI, just several days after a collection of digital correspondence between him and deceased financier the accused trafficker became publicly available.

The economist commented in a statement that he was "thankful for the opportunity to have served, enthusiastic about the promise of the company, and anticipate tracking their development".

The prominent academic, who formerly headed the prestigious university, announced on recently that he would be stepping back from public responsibilities due to his connections with Epstein.

Digital Correspondence

The freshly disclosed emails revealed that the economist communicated with the financier until the day before the financier's 2019 apprehension for accused trafficking of minors.

In another announcement, the artificial intelligence company said it accepted Summers' decision to resign.

"We acknowledge his significant contributions and the insight he brought to the directors," the company remarked.

Congressional Action

This development follows after both chambers of the US legislature decided on recently to approve a measure that would require the Department of Justice to disclose its files on the case.

The measure will afterward head to the administration of President Trump for approval. He has stated he intends to sign the bill, after modifying his stance on the issue following pressure from his supporters.

Correspondence Findings

A batch of financier-linked messages made public by the legislative panel days ago included several well-known personalities in the billionaire's previous network, without suggesting any criminal activity by those individuals.

The messages showed that Summers and Epstein often met for meals, with the billionaire often trying to introduce the academic to notable international personalities.

Personal Accountability

After the emails were shared with the public, the former official expressed he took "full responsibility for my ill-advised judgment to persist in interacting with the financier".

He added that he desired "to rebuild trust and fix connections with the individuals nearest to me".

Career Background

The professor occupied leadership roles under party leaders; acting as Treasury chief under Bill Clinton, and as head of the White House economic team under the former leader.

He led Harvard from five years and is still a academic there. When stating his departure from public duties recently on this week, he indicated he would continue his teaching commitments.

Further Repercussions

Following his statement on earlier this week, the policy organization, a progressive research organization in the capital where Summers was a researcher, announced that he was ceased to be associated with the group.

Summers entered the directorate of the technology firm, which makes the AI chatbot, in the previous year - following a unsuccessful effort to oust its CEO Sam Altman.