Emails released by Republican legislators have exposed a close relationship between former US treasury secretary Larry Summers and convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, with exchanges spanning from 2013 until months before Epstein’s death in 2019. The correspondence shows the two men sharing personal and often unseemly views on politics and relationships.
In a 2017 email, Summers wrote to Epstein: “I’m trying to figure why [the] American elite think if u murder your baby by beating and abandonment it must be irrelevant to your admission to Harvard. But hit on a few women 10 years ago and can’t work at a network or think tank. DO NOT REPEAT THIS INSIGHT.” Summers, a former Harvard president who resigned after making sexist comments, had been wrestling with an admissions controversy at the time.
The emails also reveal Summers confiding in Epstein about romantic rebuffs. In March 2019, Epstein replied to Summers’ complaints about an unnamed woman: “shes smart. making you pay for past errors.” Summers has previously expressed regret for associating with Epstein, telling the Harvard Crimson on Wednesday: “I have great regrets in my life. As I have said before, my association with Jeffrey Epstein was a major error of judgement.”
The release of 20,000 emails from the Epstein estate by Republican lawmakers came in response to Democratic releases suggesting Epstein believed Donald Trump was aware of Ghislaine Maxwell’s conduct. Trump has since called for an investigation into Epstein’s ties with Summers and other Democrats. Summers served as director of the National Economic Council under Barack Obama after his tenure at Harvard, where Epstein donated over $9m and was appointed a visiting fellow despite lacking qualifications.
