The Crimson: Harvard to open probe into former university president Larry Summers’ ties to Jeffrey Epstein

By Hanna Park, CNN

(CNN) — Harvard is launching an investigation into former university president Larry Summers’ relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after a trove of emails released last week showed years of personal correspondence between the two men, a Harvard spokesperson told the school newspaper, The Crimson, Tuesday.

The investigation will also examine the roles of other people associated with the university who are implicated in the tens of thousands of pages released by the House Oversight Committee – including Summers’ wife, a professor emerita of American literature at Harvard, and nearly a dozen current and former Harvard affiliates, the paper 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,” Harvard spokesperson Jonathan L. Swain told the Crimson.

CNN has reached out to Harvard for comment.

The investigation comes after Summers announced Monday he would withdraw from public engagements but continue teaching at the university.

“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,” Summers said.

Summers served as Bill Clinton’s Treasury secretary and Barack Obama’s director of the National Economic Council and was president of Harvard from 2001 to 2006.

He resigned as the school’s president amid multiple controversies, including his suggestion that men may perform better in the sciences because of genetic differences from women. He currently serves as the Charles W. Eliot University Professor at Harvard.

A previous investigation conducted by Harvard into its ties to Epstein revealed the multimillionaire, who died by suicide in jail while awaiting trial on charges accusing him of sexually abusing underage girls and running a sex trafficking ring, donated $9.1 million to the university between 1998 and 2008.

No donations were received after he pleaded guilty in 2008 to state charges in Florida of one count of solicitation of prostitution and one count of solicitation of prostitution with a minor, according to a 2020 statement from then-Harvard President Larry Bacow.

The emails released last week include numerous exchanges between Summers and Epstein dating from at least 2013 to 2019, which include Summers making sexist comments and seeking Epstein’s romantic advice.

Congress on Tuesday approved a measure requiring the Justice Department to release all of its investigative files on Epstein within 30 days. The Senate unanimously agreed to pass the House-backed bill, meaning the measure will be sent to President Donald Trump, who has said he’d sign the legislation.

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CNN’s MJ Lee and Marshall Cohen contributed to this report.