American Economic Association bans Epstein correspondent Summers from involvement with group

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By Michael S. Derby

Dec 2 (Reuters) – A top economic organization said former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers now has a lifetime ban amid the ongoing fallout from his close association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The American Economic Association said Tuesday it had imposed a lifetime and complete ban on former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers’ participation in its activities. The group also said in a statement that Summers had voluntarily resigned from the group.

Summers, who served as Treasury Secretary in the Clinton administration before returning to Harvard University, has in recent days also exited the board of artificial intelligence company OpenAI, while also pulling back from teaching and other work at Harvard.

Emails released by the U.S. House Oversight Committee showed a close relationship between Summers and Epstein that continued well after the disgraced financier’s 2008 conviction. There is no evidence Summers was involved in Epstein’s sex trafficking activities.

“The AEA condemns Mr. Summers’ conduct, as reflected in publicly reported communications, as fundamentally inconsistent with its standards of professional integrity and with the trust placed in mentors within the economics profession,” it said in its statement. 

Summers’ fall in the economic community is substantial. A constant presence in economic debates over many years and a confidant of presidents, Summers was one of the youngest people to gain tenure at Harvard.

(Reporting by Michael S. Derby; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama )