Harvard has opened a review into former president Larry Summers’ relationship with Jeffrey Epstein after newly released emails revealed years of private correspondence. The university will also examine other Harvard affiliates named in the public documents, including Summers’ wife. Summers said he will step back from public engagements but continue teaching and apologized for maintaining contact with Epstein. Separately, Congress approved a measure to force release of Justice Department files on Epstein within 30 days.
Harvard Opens Review of Larry Summers’ Ties to Jeffrey Epstein After Release of Email Records
Harvard has opened a review into former president Larry Summers’ relationship with Jeffrey Epstein after newly released emails revealed years of private correspondence. The university will also examine other Harvard affiliates named in the public documents, including Summers’ wife. Summers said he will step back from public engagements but continue teaching and apologized for maintaining contact with Epstein. Separately, Congress approved a measure to force release of Justice Department files on Epstein within 30 days.
06:32 PM, 11/19/2025Society
Harvard University has launched a formal review into former president Larry Summers’ relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after a recent release of documents revealed years of private correspondence between the two men, a university spokesperson confirmed to the student newspaper The Crimson.
The review will assess information about Summers and other Harvard-affiliated individuals named in tens of thousands of pages of documents made public by the House Oversight Committee. That list reportedly includes Summers’ wife, a professor emerita of American literature, and nearly a dozen current and former Harvard affiliates.
"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," said Jonathan L. Swain, a Harvard spokesperson.
Summers announced he would withdraw from public engagements while continuing to teach at Harvard and issued an apology: "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 has held prominent government and academic roles: he served as Treasury secretary under President Bill Clinton, as director of the National Economic Council under President Barack Obama, and as president of Harvard from 2001 to 2006. He resigned the Harvard presidency amid multiple controversies, including remarks suggesting genetic differences might explain gender gaps in science performance. He currently holds the title Charles W. Eliot University Professor.
A prior Harvard review found that Epstein donated $9.1 million to the university between 1998 and 2008. Harvard has said it did not accept donations from Epstein after his 2008 guilty plea in Florida on prostitution-related charges, according to a 2020 statement from then-Harvard President Larry Bacow. Epstein later died by suicide in jail while awaiting federal charges alleging sexual abuse and sex trafficking of underage girls.
The newly released emails include numerous exchanges between Summers and Epstein dated from at least 2013 through 2019; some of those messages reportedly contain sexist comments and personal requests, including asking Epstein for romantic advice.
Separately, Congress recently approved a measure requiring the Department of Justice to release its investigative files on Epstein within 30 days. The Senate passed the House-backed bill unanimously, and it was expected to be sent to the president for signature.
Reporting contributors: MJ Lee and Marshall Cohen.