FormerHarvard President Larry Summers is stepping awayfrom his public duties at the university amid new revelations about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, but he will continue to teach and recently addressed the Epstein issue with his students.
"Some of you will have seen my statement of regret, expressing my shame with respect to what I did in communication with Mr. Epstein," Summers tells a group of students ina video posted online.
He goes on to tell the students gathered in a lecture hall that while he is retreating from the public eye, "with your permission we're going to go forward and talk about the material in the class."
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In the short video clip, Summers mostly refers to a previous statement he made about Epstein, the disgraced financier who died by suicide in jail while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
"I am deeply ashamed of my actions and recognize the pain they have caused," the Harvard Crimson quoted Summers as sayingin a Nov. 17 statementto the newspaper. "I take full responsibility for my misguided decision to continue communicating with Mr. Epstein."
Summers has come under scrutiny afteremails releasedNov. 12 by the House Oversight Committeeincluded exchangesbetween him and Epstein around 2019. The trove of messages showed Summers corresponded with Epstein on a range of topics, even seeking advice about his love life.
Summers announced he wasretreating from his public commitmentsin light of the emails. He also resigned from the board of OpenAI and is stepping back from his position as a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. But he continues to appear in the classroom. He teaches five courses at the university, The Crimson reported.
While Summers remains in the classroom, Harvard announced it is investigating his ties to Epstein.
"The University is conducting a review of information concerning individuals at Harvard included in the newly released Jeffrey Epstein documents to evaluate what actions may be warranted," Harvard spokesperson Jason Newton said in a statement first reported by The Crimson.
Summers, who was Treasury secretary under President Bill Clinton, was the president of Harvard University from 2001 to 2006.
Contributing: Reuters, Melina Khan, Marc Ramirez, Francesca Chambers
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Larry Summers discusses Jeffrey Epstein ties with Harvard class: Video
