Newly released emails show a close relationship between former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, with exchanges spanning from 2013 to early 2019. The emails, released by Republican legislators, reveal personal and sometimes unseemly views on politics and relationships.
In a 2017 email, Summers wrote to Epstein about Harvard’s admissions debate, stating: “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, also noted that “half of the IQ in [the] world was possessed by women”.
The emails also show Summers confiding in Epstein about his romantic life. In a 2019 exchange, Summers discussed being rebuffed by a woman, to which Epstein replied: “shes smart. 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.”
Summers has expressed regret for his association with Epstein. In a statement to the Harvard Crimson, he said: “I have great regrets in my life … my association with Jeffrey Epstein was a major error of judgement.” His spokesperson previously told the Wall Street Journal that he “deeply regrets being in contact with Epstein after his conviction”.
The release of 20,000 emails from the Epstein estate by Republican lawmakers comes after Democrats released a smaller tranche suggesting Epstein believed Donald Trump was aware of Ghislaine Maxwell’s conduct. Trump has since called for an investigation into Epstein’s relationship with Summers and other Democrats.
Epstein donated over $9 million to Harvard between 1998 and 2008 and was appointed a visiting fellow, though the university later concluded he lacked the qualifications for the role. Harvard stopped accepting his donations after his 2008 child sex offence conviction.
