Revealed Exchanges Illustrate Epstein and Summers as Confidantes

Multiple exchanges between convicted sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein and ex- US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers came to light this week, showing the pair were confidants.

The messages, dating from 2013 to early 2019, reveal the two men discussing personal – and at times questionable – perspectives on politics and relationships.

I'm struggling to understand why [the] American elite feel if u kill your baby by physical abuse and neglect it must be unimportant to your acceptance to Harvard,”|“I’m trying to|I am attempting to|I'm struggling to} figure why [the] American elite believe if u take the life of your baby by beating and abandonment it must be unimportant to your acceptance to Harvard,”} Summers emailed to Epstein in a 2017 communication. However made advances toward a few women 10 years ago and can’t work at a network or think tank. DO NOT REPEAT THIS OBSERVATION.”

Back then, Harvard University was dealing with an admissions discussion after a once incarcerated woman’s admission to a PhD program. Summers, a ex- president of the university who resigned amid a controversy after making sexist comments about women scholars, went on to say in the message to Epstein: I noted that half of the IQ in [the] world was held by women without mentioning they are more than 51 percent of population.”

Summers was previously a key player in Democratic circles – a former treasury secretary in the Clinton administration, one of the key engineers of Barack Obama’s approach to the economic downturn, and a committed presence in the left-leaning punditry. But concerns have lingered about his association with Epstein, a former associate of Donald Trump. Epstein was charged with a broad child sex trafficking operation before his death in custody in 2019 in New York City.

Following publication of a previous set of emails between Epstein and Summers in a 2023 article, a representative for Summers stated that he “is very sorry for being in contact with Epstein after his legal finding”.

Democratic Party lawmakers released emails from the Epstein estate this week that suggest Epstein thought Trump was aware of conduct by the now-convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell. In retaliation, Conservative lawmakers issued a more extensive tranche of 20,000 emails from the Epstein estate.

The documents show that Summers continued friendly contact with the convicted child sex trafficker well into 2019, with the last email exchange happening only months before Epstein’s arrest.

Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday that he would be instructing the Department of Justice and the FBI to examine Epstein’s “participation and connection” with Summers, among other prominent liberal leaders and corporate executives.

In the emails, Summers and Epstein talk about politics – especially Summers’s dislike for Trump – as well as the details of non-profit social networking – and women. Summers, 70, disclosed to Epstein in a 2019 exchange about his overtures toward an anonymous woman, and being rebuffed.

“she's intelligent. holding you accountable for past mistakes,” Epstein responded in an exchange on 16 March. “disregard the 'daddy' comment, I'm going out with the motorcycle guy, you handled it well.. irritation indicates concern., no complaining demonstrated strength.”

Summers reiterated his sorrow in a recent statement. “I have great regrets in my life,” he wrote. “As I have said before, my association with Jeffrey Epstein was a major error of judgement.”

Summers was president of Harvard University from 2001 to 2006. Epstein contributed more than $9m to Harvard and its associated programs between 1998 and 2008, and was named a visiting fellow to conduct research. The university later found Epstein “was missing the scholarly credentials visiting fellows usually possess and his application outlined a course of study Epstein was ill-equipped to pursue”.

Harvard only stopped accepting Epstein’s donations after he confessed to child sex offenses in 2008.

At that point Obama’s profile was growing. Summers would ultimately secure appointment as director of the White House NEC from January 2009 until November 2010.

After Summers left the White House, he began asking Epstein for non-profit advice for his wife, Elisa New, a Harvard professor pursuing a poetry project. Epstein and his foundations made gifts to projects connected to Summers’s wife, and the two men got together a multiple times between 2013 and 2016, often for dinner.

After reporting about Epstein’s donations emerged, New’s charity made a donation “above and beyond” of that received to combatting sex trafficking organizations.