Boston, Dec.17.– Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, a towering figure in economics and former president of Harvard University, recently faced a moment few academics would envy. In November 2025, he reportedly opened his economics lecture at Harvard with an apology — not for a miscalculation or a controversial theory, but for his long-standing correspondence with the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Despite the scandal and the public outcry it ignited, Summers told his students he intended to continue teaching, asking for their permission to "go forward" with the class, as reported by PEOPLE.
The Scandal Unfolds: Who, What, Where, and When
The backdrop to this unusual classroom moment is a trove of emails released by the House Oversight Committee in late 2025. These documents reportedly revealed that Summers had maintained contact with Epstein for years, including exchanges as recent as the day before Epstein's arrest on federal sex trafficking of minors charges in July 2019. The emails apparently showed Summers seeking romantic advice from Epstein and lamenting the professional consequences of "cancel culture," particularly regarding interactions with women, as reported by PEOPLE.
Summers' apology came amid mounting pressure from students, faculty, and public figures. Senator Elizabeth Warren, among others, reportedly called for Harvard to take swift action to remove Summers from teaching roles, citing concerns about trust and the safety of the academic environment. Warren told the Globe, "Larry Summers has demonstrated that he cannot be trusted. Period. That includes no trust for the advice he gives or for teaching students anywhere," as reported by PEOPLE. "It's not just about Harvard ..."
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