Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren is demanding that Harvard University completely sever its relationship with former president and Treasury Secretary Larry Summers. This call to action comes after a recent document release from the estate of Jeffrey Epstein exposed the depth of Summers' ongoing friendship with the convicted sex offender.
Revealing Email Correspondence
The document dump, made public last week, shows that Larry Summers' messages appeared regularly in Jeffrey Epstein's inbox. This communication continued even after Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting sex from underage girls in Florida. According to emails reviewed by The Harvard Crimson, their discussions included the potential for the billionaire financier to make financial contributions to Harvard.
These emails specifically highlighted a digital poetry initiative that was being spearheaded by Summers' wife. Beyond financial matters, dozens of other messages delved into Summers' personal life, where he both solicited and offered relationship advice to Epstein.
A Controversial Defense
In one particularly revealing email dated October 2017, Summers appeared to express sympathy for Epstein. He bemoaned what he described as an "American elite" that ostracizes a person who "hit on a few women" a decade prior. In the same message, Summers suggested that this same elite offered a path to redemption for other, seemingly worse misdeeds.
Senator Warren did not mince words in her response to these revelations. "For decades, Larry Summers has demonstrated his attraction to serving the wealthy and well-connected, but his willingness to cozy up to a convicted sex offender demonstrates monumentally bad judgment," Warren stated to CNN.
Calls for Accountability and Institutional Change
Warren further elaborated on the implications of Summers' actions, questioning his fitness for any position of influence. "If he had so little ability to distance himself from Jeffrey Epstein even after all that was publicly known about Epstein’s sex offenses involving underage girls," she continued, "then Summers cannot be trusted to advise our nation’s politicians, policymakers, and institutions — or teach a generation of students at Harvard or anywhere else."
The financial connection between Epstein and Harvard is also under renewed scrutiny. Records show that Epstein donated approximately $9.1 million to the school between 1998 and 2008. This period directly overlapped with Summers' own tenure as president of the prestigious university, which lasted from 2001 to 2006.
In the wake of the email disclosures, Summers has reiterated a previous statement of regret. "I have great regrets in my life," he wrote in a statement relayed by The Crimson. "As I have said before, my association with Jeffrey Epstein was a major error of judgement." Despite this acknowledgment, the pressure from prominent figures like Senator Warren is mounting for Harvard to take concrete action and formally distance itself from its former leader.
