--- title: 'Deeply Ashamed' Larry Summers Retreats Over Epstein Emails description: The former U.S. Treasury Secretary who also once served as the president of Harvard University, is stepping back from public life. canonical: https://time.com/7334792/epstein-emails-controversy-larry-summers-steps-back/ author: Callum Sutherland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-11-18T14:30:56.000Z article:modified_time: 2025-11-19T13:08:12.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: 'Deeply Ashamed' Larry Summers Retreats Over Epstein Emails og:description: The former Treasury Secretary who once served as the president of Harvard University, is stepping back from public life. og:url: https://time.com/7334792/epstein-emails-controversy-larry-summers-steps-back/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcdcfa651b100a427/6998cbc0d32e93267ccd78cd/larry-summers-sep17.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: President Emeritus At Harvard University Lawrence Summers Interview og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'Deeply Ashamed' Larry Summers Retreats Over Epstein Emails twitter:description: The former Treasury Secretary who once served as the president of Harvard University, is stepping back from public life. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcdcfa651b100a427/6998cbc0d32e93267ccd78cd/larry-summers-sep17.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'Deeply Ashamed' Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers to Retreat From Public Life After Bombshell Epstein Emails > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=53d19b48-eeb9-4f6b-ac75-fa227128b28d&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Survivors and Lawmakers Confront Trump’s History On Epstein Files Ahead Of House Vote VERTICAL [Watch (HLS stream): Survivors and Lawmakers Confront Trump’s History On Epstein Files Ahead Of House Vote VERTICAL](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Z2coVsx3.m3u8) (2:46)  _Published 2025-11-18. Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, once one of President Donald Trump’s most loyal allies, has fired back after the President called her a “traitor” in their public feud._ by [Callum Sutherland](https://time.com/author/callum-sutherland/) ## Callum Sutherland Reporter Updated: Nov 19, 2025 1:08 PM UTCPublished: Nov 18, 2025 2:30 PM UTC  Larry Summers, professor at Harvard University, during an interview in New York, on Sept. 17, 2025. Larry Summers, professor at Harvard University, during an interview in New York, on Sept. 17, 2025. Victor J. Blue—Getty Images by [Callum Sutherland](https://time.com/author/callum-sutherland/) ## Callum Sutherland Reporter Updated: Nov 19, 2025 1:08 PM UTCPublished: Nov 18, 2025 2:30 PM UTC Larry Summers, the former U.S. Treasury Secretary who also once served as the president of Harvard University, is stepping back from public life amid the fallout over his relationship with the late convicted sex offender [Jeffrey Epstein](https://time.com/7333256/epstein-emails-trump-takeaways/). In a statement shared with _The Harvard Crimson_ and other outlets, Summers said he is retreating in order to “rebuild trust and repair relationships with the people closest” to him. Last week, the House Oversight Committee released 20,000 documents related to the estate of Epstein which featured records of emails shared between Summers and the disgraced financier. Most damning of all was the timeline, which showed Summers maintained the friendship long after Epstein was first convicted of sex crimes in 2008. “I am deeply ashamed of my actions and recognize the pain they have caused. I take full responsibility for my misguided decision to continue communicating with Mr. Epstein,” [said Summers](https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2025/11/18/summers-steps-back-from-public-commitments-epstein/) on Monday, after calling the correspondence a “major error of judgement.” Summers, a Democrat, served as Treasury Secretary from 1999 to 2001 under former President Bill Clinton. He went on to serve as Harvard president from 2001 to 2006, when he resigned in the midst of various public controversies, including his contentious [remarks](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/science-jan-june05-summersremarks%5F2-22) suggesting that men may outperform women in the sciences due to genetic differences. He still serves as a professor at Harvard, and has said he will fulfill his teaching obligations. TIME has reached out to Summers for further comment. Harvard University is also set to open a probe into Summers' relationship with Epstein, the university's newspaper reported on Tuesday night. In a statement to _The Harvard Crimson,_ the Ivy League school's spokesperson Jonathan Swain said "the University is conducting a review of information concerning individuals at Harvard included in the newly released Jeffrey Epstein documents to evaluate what actions may be warranted." Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, herself a former Harvard professor, had previously urged the Ivy League school in her state to sever ties with the former Treasury Secretary. “For decades, Larry Summers has demonstrated his attraction to serving the wealthy and well-connected, but his willingness to cozy up to a convicted sex offender demonstrates monumentally bad judgment,” Warren told TIME via an emailed statement on Tuesday, in response to Summers' announcement regarding his retreat from public life. “If he had so little ability to distance himself from Jeffrey Epstein even after all that was publicly known about Epstein’s sex offenses involving underage girls, then Summers cannot be trusted to advise our nation’s politicians, policymakers, and institutions—or teach a generation of students at Harvard or anywhere else.” Summers is also facing backlash over the newly-surfaced Epstein emails outside of the university system. On Wednesday morning, Summers confirmed he is resigning from OpenAI’s board of directors. “Larry has decided to resign from the OpenAI Board of Directors, and we respect his decision,” the board said in a statement. “We appreciate his many contributions and the perspective he brought to the Board.” The emails at the centre of the media storm show that Summers maintained friendly communications with Epstein until as late as [March 2019](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jD%5FnLp6ssOIN213ML34igIyeBYndGDQw/view?usp=drive%5Flink), just months before Epstein died in a New York jail cell when he was in custody once more, awaiting trial on federal charges for the sex trafficking of minors. Summers could also be seen [exchanging text messages ](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nV-a7JutYqaHT0LpH0lKSkC19zgs-aL8/view)with Epstein in the days ahead of him being taken into custody. As well as being shown to discuss President Donald Trump, the duo also appeared to talk about women in a disparaging manner throughout their communications. [In one chain of emails](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Go-oxO84L5-7r0Y8ZGXqcVRDePKjgvD0/view?usp=drive%5Flink) from October 2017, Summers said: “I observed that half of the IQ In world was possessed by women without mentioning they are more than 51% of \[the\] population.” In the same correspondence, Summers appeared to complain about men being held accountable for their previous actions toward women. “I’m trying to figure why American elite think if u murder your baby by beating and abandonment it must be irrelevant to your admission to Harvard, but hit on a few women 10 years ago and can’t work at a network or think tank,” he is quoted as saying, alongside the warning: “DO NOT REPEAT THIS INSIGHT.” In another set of emails, dated July. 16, 2018, Summers and Epstein appear [to discuss](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZVj1Jmt5ferC-fC0FsIJVTZ05CncL-pW/view?usp=drive%5Flink) a joint [press conference](https://www.npr.org/2018/07/16/629462401/transcript-president-trump-and-russian-president-putins-joint-press-conference) held by President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Do the Russians have stuff on Trump? Today was appalling even by his standards,” said Summers. To which Epstein replied: “Not that I know. I would doubt it. He was totally predictable!” The men are then seen to arrange a phone call for later. Trump alluded to the correspondence between Epstein and Summers on board Air Force One on Nov. 14, but stopped short of delving into the specifics uncovered in the emails. The President has fielded a number of questions about the three [initial emails released last week by the House Democrats](https://time.com/7333327/new-jeffrey-epstein-emails-allege-trump-aware-of-conduct/), which showed Epstein alleging that Trump “knew about the girls” and “spent hours” at Epstein’s house with one of them. Trump has long—and fiercely—denied having any prior knowledge of Epstein’s conduct. When [asked about the allegations](https://edition.cnn.com/2025/11/18/us/video/trump-snaps-reporter-epstein-quiet-piggy-vrtc-digvid) concerning himself, and what exactly Epstein meant by “knew about the girls,” Trump told reporters: “I know nothing about that.” He then went on to name other high-profile figures known to have had relationships with Epstein. “It’s really what did he mean when he spent all that time with \[former President\] Bill Clinton, with the president of Harvard… Larry Summers, whatever his name is,” said Trump. (Clinton, who has acknowledged being a former associate of Epstein, has vehemently denied knowledge of his crimes and[ denied visiting Epstein’s island](https://edition.cnn.com/2019/07/08/politics/bill-clinton-jeffrey-epstein/index.html).) ## Transcript These women have fought the most horrific fight that no woman should have to fight, and they did it by banding together and never giving up. And that's what we did by fighting so hard against the most powerful people in the world, even the president of the United States, in order to make this vote happen today. I was called a traitor by a man that I fought for five. No, actually six years for. And I gave him my loyalty for free. I won my first election without his endorsement, beating eight men in a primary, and I've never owed him anything. But I fought for him for the policies and for America first. And he called me a traitor for standing with these women and refusing to take my name off the discharge petition. Let me tell you what a traitor is. A traitor is a is an American that serves foreign countries and themselves. A patriot is an American that serves the United States of America. And Americans like the women standing behind me. I beg you, President Trump, please stop making this political. It is not about you, President Trump. You are our president. Please start acting like it. Show some class. Show some real leadership. Show that you actually care about the people other than yourself. I voted for you, but your behavior on this issue has been a national embarrassment. I want everybody to take a look. I know everybody sees us today as grown adults, but we are fighting for the children that were abandoned and left behind in the reckoning. This is who you're fighting for. This is who Congress is fighting for. This is who the House of Representatives are fighting for. And hopefully the Senate will fight for us, too. And to the president of the United States of America who is not here today. I want to send a clear message to you. While I do understand that your position has changed on the Epstein files, and I'm grateful that you have pledged to sign this bill, I can't help to be skeptical of what the agenda is. So with that being said, I want to relay this message to you. I am traumatized, I am not stupid. Don't muck it up in the Senate. Don't get too cute. We're all paying attention. If you want to add some additional protections for these survivors, go for it. But if you do anything that prevents any disclosure, you are not for the people and you are not part of this effort. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7334792/epstein-emails-controversy-larry-summers-steps-back/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7334792/epstein-emails-controversy-larry-summers-steps-back/"},"headline":"'Deeply Ashamed' Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers to Retreat From Public Life After Bombshell Epstein Emails","datePublished":"2025-11-18T14:30:56.000Z","dateModified":"2025-11-19T13:08:12.000Z","description":"The former U.S. Treasury Secretary who also once served as the president of Harvard University, is stepping back from public life amid the fallout over his relationship with the late convicted sex offender.","url":"https://time.com/7334792/epstein-emails-controversy-larry-summers-steps-back/","keywords":["Education","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcdcfa651b100a427/6998cbc0d32e93267ccd78cd/larry-summers-sep17.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Callum Sutherland","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/callum-sutherland/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcdcfa651b100a427/6998cbc0d32e93267ccd78cd/larry-summers-sep17.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President Emeritus At Harvard University Lawrence Summers Interview","caption":"President Emeritus At Harvard University Lawrence Summers Interview","creditText":"Victor J. 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