Epstein Files Spark Harvard Investigation into Larry Summers
E-mails between Larry Summers and the now deceased financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein from 2018 and 2019 have raised questions about a relationship Summers pursued with a student
Larry Summers, president emeritus and professor at Harvard University on July 9, 2025.
David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty Images
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Harvard University has launched an investigation into former university president and influential economist Larry Summers and almost a dozen other scholars over their ties to disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
A trove of Epstein’s e-mails that was released by a congressional committee last week revealed surprising links with several university-associated personnel. In some 2018 and 2019 e-mails, Summers appeared to have sought relationship advice from the then convicted sex offender over a relationship Summers had sought with a younger woman he described as a mentee. Epstein died while awaiting trial in 2019.
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News of the investigation was first published on Tuesday by the Harvard Crimson, a student newspaper. A Harvard spokesperson told the Crimson that its review of personnel involved with Epstein was aimed “to evaluate what actions may be warranted.” Summers did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Scientific American.
Editor’s Note: This is a developing story and may be updated.
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