Former Obama Official Steps Down Over Email He Was Epstein ‘Wing Man’
Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers will step down from his teaching roles at Harvard University as renewed scrutiny grows over his past connections to disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Harvard confirmed that Summers will leave his faculty appointments at the end of the academic year and surrender his prestigious University Professorship — the institution’s highest academic distinction. According to The Harvard Crimson, Summers called the decision “difficult,” though he did not publicly give a specific reason for his departure.
The timing of the move comes as newly released Justice Department materials — made public by House lawmakers — shed additional light on Epstein’s network of powerful contacts. Among the documents are email exchanges indicating that Summers maintained communication with Epstein until Epstein’s 2019 arrest, long after Epstein had already pleaded guilty in 2008 to state charges involving the solicitation of minors.
Some of the correspondence reportedly touched on political matters and personal relationships. Lawmakers pointed to one message in which Summers sought Epstein’s advice about pursuing a romantic relationship with a woman he had previously referred to as a mentee.
“I dint [sic] want to be in a gift giving competition while being the friend without benefits,” Summers wrote in one exchange. Epstein responded at one point that he was a “pretty good wing man.”
Among the emails highlighted by lawmakers was one in where Summers asked Epstein for advice on “getting horizontal” with a woman that he had earlier described as a mentee.
The revelations have revived longstanding concerns about the judgment of influential political and academic elites who continued associating with Epstein even after his criminal conviction became public.
Previously released travel records also show that Summers and his wife, Lisa New, visited Epstein’s private Caribbean island, Little Saint James, in December 2005. At the time, Summers was serving as Harvard’s president. The visit took place shortly after the couple’s wedding.
A spokesperson for Summers has previously defended the trip, explaining that the couple spent their honeymoon in St. John and Jamaica and made only a short stop — less than a day — on Epstein’s island. The spokesperson emphasized that the visit occurred before Epstein’s first arrest in 2006 and his eventual 2008 conviction.
However, records indicate that Palm Beach police had already opened an investigation into Epstein months before the 2005 trip — a fact that has fueled renewed scrutiny surrounding the visit.
Harvard spokesman Jason Newton told The New York Times that Summers’ resignation is “in connection with the ongoing review by the University of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein that were recently released by the government.”
Summers has been on leave from Harvard since November, during which time he has not taught classes or taken on new graduate students. The university confirmed that arrangement will remain in place until his resignation formally takes effect.
A longtime fixture in Democratic political circles, Summers served as Treasury secretary under former President Bill Clinton and later led the National Economic Council under President Barack Obama. For decades he has remained one of the Democratic Party’s most prominent voices on economic and fiscal policy.
His relationship with Epstein has drawn criticism before. In 2021, reports revealed that Epstein had donated to Harvard and that Summers met with him several times even after the financier’s 2008 conviction. Summers later acknowledged the association was a serious mistake, saying he deeply regretted maintaining contact and admitting he had “underestimated” the harm caused by Epstein’s actions.
The renewed attention comes as Congress continues reviewing Epstein-related records in an effort to better understand the powerful network that surrounded the financier. Epstein died in federal custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges, a death that authorities ruled a suicide but that continues to raise questions among critics.
Summers has not yet issued a detailed public response addressing the newly released emails. Harvard officials say the university’s review of the documents remains ongoing.
With Summers’ departure, another high-profile Democratic figure exits the academic stage under renewed scrutiny — as broader questions continue to swirl about the powerful individuals who maintained ties to Jeffrey Epstein long after his crimes became widely known.