The New York Times has decided not to renew Lawrence Summers' contract as a contributing writer following the release of emails showing his friendly correspondence with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The newspaper confirmed on Tuesday that Summers' one-year contract, which began in January 2025, would not be extended.
The decision comes after House Republicans released thousands of files related to Epstein, revealing that Summers maintained a relationship with the disgraced financier long after his 2008 guilty plea for soliciting prostitution from a minor. In one 2018 email, Epstein described himself as Summers' "wing man." The correspondence continued until July 5, 2019, the day before Epstein was arrested on sex-trafficking charges.
In the emails, Summers asked Epstein for relationship advice and discussed the probability of "getting horizontal" with a woman they referred to as "peril." The revelations prompted lawmakers to urge institutions to sever ties with Summers, who previously served as US treasury secretary and Harvard president.
Summers said in a statement on Monday that he was "deeply ashamed" and would step back from public commitments to "rebuild trust." He acknowledged his "misguided decision to continue communicating with Mr Epstein." The Center for American Progress has ended his role as distinguished senior fellow, and Yale's Budget Lab confirmed he is no longer on its advisory group. OpenAI, however, declined to comment on whether Summers would leave its board.
Donald Trump has called for an investigation into Summers' ties with Epstein, though he did not mention any Republicans in his remarks. Summers remains a professor at Harvard and director of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government.
