Siobhan Lee

Good morning, Michelle.

Sure.

So both Summers and Harvard announced his resignation in separate statements.

Summers said his decision to retire was, quote, difficult.

He said he will be always grateful to his students and colleagues.

Summers had been on academic leave since new emails with Jeffrey Epstein surfaced in November.

Those emails shed more light on their tight relationship.

They discussed Summers' interest in a woman outside his marriage, and they bantered about Epstein being Summers' wingman.

Summers had stopped teaching his fall courses and stepped back from public appearances.

So for him to announce that he's retiring doesn't totally come out of left field.

A Harvard spokesman said Summers' resignation comes in connection to the school's ongoing review into the new Epstein files released by the government.

Now, it's unclear what his affiliation with the school will be, but the spokesman tells me he won't receive the honorary title of professor emeritus.

Well, Summers' statement said that he was retiring.

However, the Harvard University statement said that

At least the dean of the Harvard Kennedy School accepts his resignation from being a co-director at that center in connection to the school's new investigation.

Interesting.

Okay, so remind us, if you would, about why there's so much attention on Larry Summers.

Sure.

So Summers is one of the most well-known figures at Harvard.

He's a prominent economist.