BOSTON — Larry Summers, the former president of Harvard University who once served as U.S. Treasury secretary, says he will step back from public commitments after the release of emails showing he maintained a friendly relationship with Jeffrey Epstein long after the financier pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution from an underage girl in 2008.

Summers did not detail exactly what stepping back would entail, saying in a statement that he would continue to teach and promised to “rebuild trust and repair relationships with the people closest to me.”

“I am deeply ashamed of my actions and recognize the pain they have caused. I take full responsibility for my misguided decision to continue communicating with Mr. Epstein,” Summers said.

However, the Center for American Progress, a progressive DC-based think tank, confirmed Tuesday that Summers was “ending his fellowship at CAP.” A spokesperson for the Budget Lab at Yale also said Summers is no longer a member of the organization’s advisory group.

OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, declined to say Tuesday if Summers was stepping down from its board of directors, referring questions to Summers spokesperson Kelly Friendly who said she did not have anything to add “beyond his statement.”

Summers joined the OpenAI board in Nov. 2023, part of an effort to restore stability at the nonprofit and bring back its CEO Sam Altman after its previous board members fired Altman days earlier.

Summers’ announcement came just days after President Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that he would ask the Justice Department and the FBI to investigate Summers’ relationship with Epstein, along with former President Bill Clinton and LinkedIn founder and Democratic donor Reid Hoffman. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has since said she has ordered a top federal prosecutor to lead the investigation.