Harvard University is facing mounting pressure to sever its relationship with former president Larry Summers after newly released emails revealed extensive personal correspondence with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Warren's Strong Condemnation
Senator Elizabeth Warren, a former Harvard Law School professor, delivered a sharp rebuke of Summers in an exclusive CNN interview. The Massachusetts Democrat stated Summers "cannot be trusted" with students given his continued relationship with Epstein even after the financier's sex crimes were publicly known.
"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 told CNN. She emphasized that Summers should not be trusted to advise politicians, policymakers, or institutions—nor to teach students at Harvard or any other institution.
Revealing Email Exchanges
The controversy erupted when the House Oversight Committee released tens of thousands of documents from the Epstein estate last Wednesday. The documents included numerous email exchanges between Summers and Epstein spanning from 2013 to 2019—years after Epstein's 2008 guilty plea for soliciting prostitution from a minor.
The emails show the two men regularly discussing current events, political headlines, and high-profile figures. More disturbingly, the correspondence reveals Summers seeking Epstein's romantic advice regarding his personal relationships.
In one November 2018 exchange, Summers appeared to forward an email from a woman to solicit Epstein's advice on when to respond. "Think no response for a while probably appropriate," Summers wrote. Epstein replied: "she's already beginning to sound needy ? nice."
Ongoing Contact Despite Public Knowledge
What makes these exchanges particularly concerning is their timing. The regular contact occurred after the Miami Herald published its exhaustive investigative series in late 2018 detailing Epstein's abuse of underage girls and his controversial plea deal.
In March 2019, the men exchanged multiple emails debating whether Summers should send a note to a woman of romantic interest. Epstein argued sending a note would be "BAD FORM," advising instead that Summers demonstrate he cared "very much for this person."
Other messages included Summers making sexist comments, including one October 2017 email where he mused: "I observed that half the IQ in world was possessed by women without mentioning they are more than 51% of population."
Summers has previously expressed regret for his association with Epstein. He currently serves as the Charles W. Eliot University Professor at Harvard. The Center for American Progress, where Summers is a senior fellow, told CNN they are "reviewing last week's disclosures to determine appropriate next steps."
This isn't Summers' first controversy at Harvard. He resigned as president in 2006 following multiple disputes, including his suggestion that genetic differences might explain why men outperform women in sciences.
