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Former US treasury secretary Lawrence Summers is departing from the governing body at OpenAI, just days after a batch of digital correspondence between him and late convicted sex offender the disgraced billionaire became public.

He commented in a statement that he was "grateful for the privilege to have served, enthusiastic about the potential of the organization, and anticipate tracking their advancement".

The former Harvard president, who previously presided over the prestigious university, stated on earlier this week that he would be scaling back from public responsibilities due to his connections with the convicted sex offender.

Message Exchange

The freshly disclosed emails demonstrated that the official communicated with the financier until the 24 hours preceding Epstein's 2019 arrest for suspected trafficking of minors.

In additional comments, the technology organization stated it accepted Summers' decision to resign.

"We appreciate his numerous inputs and the insight he offered to the governing body," the company stated.

Congressional Action

This news comes after the entire Congress of the legislative branch agreed on this week to approve a measure that would require the federal prosecutors to release its documents on Epstein.

The bill will afterward move to the office of the White House for signature. The President has said he plans to endorse the legislation, after changing his position on the matter following pushback from his followers.

Correspondence Findings

A group of Epstein-related correspondence disclosed by the legislative panel days ago mentioned numerous high-profile figures in the financier's former circle, without indicating any legal wrongdoing by those individuals.

The messages indicated that Summers and the financier dined together frequently, with Epstein often trying to introduce the official to influential international personalities.

Individual Statement

After the emails were shared with the public, the former official stated he took "total ownership for my misguided decision to continue interacting with Mr Epstein".

He added that he desired "to rebuild trust and mend bonds with the people most important to me".

Career Background

Summers served in senior posts under party leaders; acting as treasury secretary under the former president, and as head of the National Economic Council under President Obama.

He presided over Harvard from five years and is still a academic there. When declaring his step-down from public roles earlier on Monday, he stated he would persist with his educational duties.

Additional Consequences

Following his declaration on Monday, the Center for American Progress, a progressive think tank in the capital where Summers was a senior fellow, verified that he was not affiliated with the group.

Summers became part of the leadership of the technology firm, which makes the language model, in last year - following a defeated move to oust its CEO OpenAI's head.