Larry Summers, the former US Treasury Secretary, has been banned for life from the American Economic Association (AEA) after the emergence of emails showing his continued friendship with the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The AEA, a nonprofit scholarly body, said it had accepted Mr Summers' resignation and confirmed the lifetime ban, prohibiting him from attending, speaking at or otherwise participating in its events. The association condemned his conduct as "fundamentally inconsistent" with its standards of professional integrity and the trust placed in mentors within the economics profession.
The emails, which were published last month, included messages in which Mr Summers appeared to seek advice from Epstein about pursuing a romantic relationship with a woman who regarded him as an "economic mentor". In one message, Epstein wrote: "im a pretty good wing man , no?" The following day, Mr Summers told Epstein he had texted the woman.
Following the emails' release, Mr Summers took leave from his teaching post at Harvard University and as director of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government. Several other organisations, including the Center for American Progress and the Center for Global Development, also ended their affiliations with him.
Epstein, who died by suicide in jail in 2019, was a convicted sex offender with ties to many powerful figures. Mr Summers, who served as treasury secretary under President Bill Clinton and was Harvard's president from 2001 to 2006, described his association with Epstein as a "major error in judgement".
