Former Harvard University President Larry Summers has said he will step back from public commitments after his emails with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein were made public.
"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 in a statement obtained by the BBC's US partner, CBS News.
Emails released by Congress last week show Summers, a former US Treasury Secretary, communicated with Epstein up until the day before Epstein's 2019 arrest for sex trafficking minors.
Files related to Epstein continue to roil Congress with a vote on their release scheduled for Tuesday.
The move comes after the US Justice Department announced that it would investigate Epstein's "involvement and relationship" with former President Bill Clinton, who was also a friend of Epstein, and several other prominent Democrats.
