Senator Elizabeth Warren said Monday that Harvard University should cut ties with Larry Summers following the release of email correspondence between the former Harvard president and the late Jeffrey Epstein.
Warren, a Cambridge Democrat who formerly taught at Harvard Law School, said in a statement she believes Summers “cannot be trusted” with students given his past relationship with Epstein, a financier who died in custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal child sex trafficking charges.
Summers has never been accused of wrongdoing related to Epstein and has said he regretted his association with the investor who moved in rarefied circles with heads of state, titans of industry, and stars of academia.
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“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 said, referring to Epstein’s state court conviction in Florida for soliciting a minor for sex.
“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, 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,” Warren said.
Warren’s remarks were first reported by CNN.
A request for comment was sent to Summers’s spokesperson on Monday afternoon. Last week, he told the Harvard Crimson, “I have great regrets in my life,” and that as “I have said before, my association with Jeffrey Epstein was a major error of judgement.”
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Harvard didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Summers was Harvard’s president from 2001 to 2006 and currently leads the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the university’s Kennedy School. He was a treasury secretary in the Clinton administration and a top economic adviser for President Obama.
Summers’s emails with Epstein were among thousands of documents a congressional committee released last week.
At times, Summers asked Epstein for relationship advice and complained about Donald Trump, while in other online conversations Epstein appeared to be seeking favors from Summers.
In an email on November 29, 2016, Summers asked about an upcoming meeting Epstein had arranged.
“Who is the guy you have set me up with?” Summers asked in a note time-stamped 2:34 a.m.
It was Karim Wade, son of Abdoulaye Wade, who served as president of Senegal from 2000 to 2012, Epstein replied.
“He is well educated and one of the most important figures in west africa,” Epstein wrote. “However full disclosure, he was put in jail to remove him from running against the current president. He is in qatar awaiting his political return to power which is almost guaranteed. He is the most charismatic, and rational of all the Africans and has theire [sic] respect.”
“Always quiet advice to anybody who can use it,” Summers replied. “Try always discreet. If u become associated publicly [with] something the reputations converge. Looking forward to meeting Karim.”
In the same message chain, Summers also warned Epstein not to set him up with Donald Trump, who had been elected president for the first time a few weeks earlier.
“Spend zero effort on anything about me w trump,” Summers wrote. “Seeing his approach to conflict of interest, his Putin proximity, and his mindless response on Castro death I’m best off a million miles away.”
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In a July 2018 message exchange, one year before Epstein’s July 2019 arrest on federal charges, the pair discussed Trump again.
“Do the Russians have stuff on Trump?,” Summers asked in a July 15, 2018, email. “Today was appalling even by his standards.”
“My email is full with similar comments,” Epstein wrote back. “wow. Im [sic] sure his view is that it went super well — he thinks he has charmed his adversary. . Admittedly he has no idea of the symbolism — he has no idea of most things.”
“Will call later,” Summers replied. “What number?”
In an email chain on March 16, 2019, Summers complained about a woman he was interested in who was apparently seeing someone else.
“Tone was not of good feeling,” Summers wrote. “I dint [sic] want to be in a gift giving competition while being the friend without benefits.”
“Shes smart,” Epstein replied. “Making you pay for past errors. ignore the daddy im going to go out with the motorcycle guy, you reacted well.. annoyed shows caring., no whining showed strentgh [sic].”
The Wall Street Journal reported in 2023 that Summers had sought a $1 million donation from Epstein for an online poetry project his wife was developing and invited Epstein to dinner. Epstein donated $110,000 to the project.
Summers “deeply regrets being in contact with Epstein after his conviction,” his spokesperson told the paper at the time. And Summers’ wife’s project “regrets accepting funding from Epstein.”
Material from previous Globe coverage and wire services was used in this report.
Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com.