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Larry Summers resigns from OpenAI board

334 points by koolba 11mo ago

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/19/technology/larry-summers-resigns-from-openais-board.html https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/19/technology/larry-summers-..., https://archive.ph/ASfq6 https://archive.ph/ASfq6

koolba 11mo ago
In related news, Harvard is also launching its own investigation into its former president Summers: https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2025/11/19/harvard-opens-investigation-into-summers-epstein/ https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2025/11/19/harvard-opens-...
- pessimizer 11mo ago
  MIT and NYT need to get back on it, too. Lots of people still not feeling any consequences, much like Epstein during life. The girls were threatened more than he ever was (and still are.) It seems like the NYT was cackling in glee just a couple months ago, saying that even Trump had to finally buck the conspiracy theories of his evil, ignorant MAGA followers and admit that there was absolutely nothing to see and nothing interesting about the Epstein case and it's actually silly that you would think there was. Nice that MAGA demands accountability from Trump in a way Democrats don't from their leaders. It's also telling that the NYT is the only major outlet to consistently be reticent to state unequivocally that Epstein killed himself. Always said "found to have committed suicide." Somebody there with editorial veto control knows that flimsy story isn't going to last forever. Even if he hadn't been made cellmates with an insane strangler murder cop with nothing to lose, hadn't said that the "suicide attempt" was insane murder cop trying to kill him, and was taken off suicide watch one day after that "suicide attempt." The night Jeffrey Epstein claimed his cellmate tried to kill him, CBS News 2025/09/22 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jeffrey-epstein-claimed-cellmate-tried-to-kill-him/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jeffrey-epstein-claimed-cellmat... Nicholas Tartaglione https://www.lohud.com/story/news/crime/2019/09/23/feds-how-nicholas-tartaglione-killed-martin-luna/2416640001/ https://www.lohud.com/story/news/crime/2019/09/23/feds-how-n... [edit: re Tartaglione, who never had the slightest chance of ever getting out of prison. Has anybody checked if the financial situation of his family changed for the better since the incident?]
  - ternaryoperator 11mo ago
    > It's also telling that the NYT is the only major outlet to consistently be reticent to state unequivocally that Epstein killed himself. Always said "found to have committed suicide." Nonsense. "...Mr. Epstein, who died by suicide... [0] "...disgraced financier who died by suicide...[1] etc. [0] https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/us/politics/trump-epstein-files.html https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/us/politics/trump-epstein... [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/us/politics/trump-epstein-emails.html https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/us/politics/trump-epstein...
  - lo_zamoyski 11mo ago
    > Nice that MAGA demands accountability from Trump in a way Democrats don't from their leaders. This doesn't accord with experience. MAGA is notorious for rationalizing anything Trump says or does. The uniparty is a rotten, spiraling race to the bottom.
    - yahoozoo 11mo ago
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      - DonHopkins 11mo ago
        Only because Trump told them to push it first. His problem is that he changed his mind.
        catlover76 11mo ago
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      - overfeed 11mo ago
        MAGA was pushing for it when they believed it was a liberal conspiracy, with the Clintons trafficking children and "harvesting their adrenochrome" (see Comet Pizza incident). Now MAGA luminaries are suggesting grown men abusing minors isn't that creepy if the victims are teenaged - so much for protecting the kids.
- senderista 11mo ago
  OMG the correspondence described there is disgusting: Summers seeking advice from Epstein on how to turn a mentoring relationship into a romantic one.
  - deleted 11mo ago
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- benzible 11mo ago
  The one-time head of the most elite academic institution as well as the US Treasury is an insecure 12 year old boy at heart. Summers clearly saw Epstein as aspirational for his "success" with "women". But this isn't really new information about him. In 2005 he went in front of an audience including top women scientists at the National Bureau of Economic Research and essentially said the lack of women at the top of science was mostly about their lack of innate aptitude, not discrimination [1] (he gave multiple alternate "theories" but it was clear which one he actually believed). People immediately saw that for what it was: a powerful guy projecting his own hang-ups about women. That he's maintained his status over the last 20 years does not speak well of the US's most prestigious institutions. https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2005/2/18/full-transcript-president-summers-remarks-at/ https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2005/2/18/full-transcript...
- arresin 11mo ago
  I find it hard to believe that they’re only finding out now.
  - FridgeSeal 11mo ago
    Better to be _seen_ to be doing something later, than to have it pointed out.
  - epistasis 11mo ago
    I don't think anybody knew the extent of relationships with Epstein that were revealed when 20k email messages were dumped onto the world. I have long been a hater of Summers, but had no indication that he was involved with Epstein like this. I could understand others at Harvard not knowing, unless they had access to Summers' personal email somehow. Chomsky, another person who I have long hated (for setting back linguistics with his extreme bullying, the dominance of bad theory, and the resistance to actually studying languages before they go extinct, etc etc etc). And though I knew there was some connection to Epstein, as many intellectuals had connections to him, I had no idea it was to that extent. All this is to say that even opponents of Epstein's confidants didn't know the extent of connection, and I'm not surprised that others are Harvard didn't know.
    - watwut 11mo ago
      I mean, there are other harward people making very similar consultations with Epstein. It seems to be more of "influencial harward people support each other" situation. Plus, there are harward people who complained about these harward people for years and claim to not be surprised.
  - safety1st 11mo ago
    The thing to understand about Summers is that he is basically the guy that charted the course to where America is today. Enormously influential, he provided the intellectual gravitas as well as the raw policymaking muscle for a version of the US economy that was financialized, globalized, and monopolized. If you're broke in 2025, Larry Summers probably had something to do with it. Anything that will knock this guy down many many pegs is worthwhile imo.
squillion 11mo ago
Let's not forget that time he advocated for dumping toxic waste in poor countries. "I think the economic logic behind dumping a load of toxic waste in the lowest wage country is impeccable and we should face up to that." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summers_memo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summers_memo
- hyperman1 11mo ago
  Wow. That text is wild! Another excerpt: I've always thought that under-populated countries in Africa are vastly UNDER-polluted, their air quality is probably vastly inefficiently low compared to Los Angeles or Mexico City.
  - recursive 11mo ago
    The /s was supposed to be implied.
  - datatrashfire 11mo ago
    Would you accept 0 pollution if it meant you had no electricity, electronic devices, or access to transportation? All of those things create pollution.
    - estimator7292 11mo ago
      Hey, you probably don't want to sympathize with a guy that everyone around you thinks is irredeemably evil. And if you do still want to sympathize with such, maybe examine that motivation for like three seconds.
      - Dracophoenix 11mo ago
        "Bad" people can still have good ideas or well-thought arguments. It happens often enough to have become became a clichéd meme. https://clickhole.com/heartbreaking-the-worst-person-you-know-just-made-a-gr-1825121606/ https://clickhole.com/heartbreaking-the-worst-person-you-kno...
Teever 11mo ago
There's an interesting list of criticisms about Larry Summers here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15320922 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15320922 Based on an interview that I've seen of him a few years ago and these emails between him and Epstein he seems kind of... not smart? It raises a really interesting question which is how do people like him climb so high up the ladder?
- JKCalhoun 11mo ago
  What do you mean? I assumed he was cozied up to by the likes of Epstein because he had already ascended the ladder. I see, because you think he's "not smart"… Yeah, I think "smart" and "makes smart choices" are two different things.
  - Teever 11mo ago
    According to wikipedia: > Summers's ties to Epstein reportedly began "a number of years...before Summers became Harvard's president and even before he was the Secretary of the Treasury."[59] Flight records introduced as evidence in the 2021 trial of Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell show that Summers flew on Jeffrey Epstein's private plane on at least four occasions, including once in 1998 when Summers was United States Deputy Secretary of the Treasury and at least three times while Harvard president. And on the wikipedia page of Summers' wife: > In an email to Epstein released in 2025 by the House Oversight Committee, New mentioned a recorded but unreleased episode of Poetry in America featuring Woody Allen, who was introduced to New by Epstein. In an email to Epstein, New mentioned she would reread Lolita (a book Epstein was known to have by his bedside) and, separately, recommended he read My Ántonia by Willa Cather, describing both as stories of 'a man whose whole life is stamped forever by his impression of a young girl[20][21]. I recently listened to a podcast about Robert Maxwell[0], the father of Ghislaine Maxwell and in the second part of the podcast they went into great detail about Maxwell's publishing empire and how he apparently started the modern academic publishing industry as we know it. It seems like Epstein learned from Maxwell's father the technique of finding academics who have desirable resources whether they be intellectual or social and then cultivating relationships with them by offering them what they always wanted but never felt they had be it academic recognition from peers in the form of positions at journals or conferences or dates/sex with young beautiful women and/or girls. Attention from peers and women/girls is like a kryptonite to nerds like Larry Summers, his wife, or Marvin Minsky and Epstein was able to parlay that influence on these nerds to influence the wealthy and powerful. But the question of how Summers got into the position that he found himself in still remains. You listen to the man speak and he isn't very smart. He continued a personal relationship with a convicted pedophile and sought dating advice from this person. The more you dig into this Summers guy and his wife the more you realize they're just... dumb. As an outsider looking in I'm starting to wonder if this world is just a bunch of academically capable but socially stunted individuals being preyed on by socially voracious people like Epstein with no morals? [0] https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/part-one-robert-maxwell-how-ghislaine-maxwells-dad/id1373812661?i=1000706496292 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/part-one-robert-maxwel...
black_13 11mo ago
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alex1138 11mo ago
"Winklevoss twins are assholes [but I have nothing substantive to say against their claim of product theft]" - LS
strathmeyer 11mo ago
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johnwheeler 11mo ago
I saw the email correspondence between him and Epstein. The sense that I got is he's pursuing some young girl half his age. And he actually thinks that she is attracted to him. Powerful, ugly men are so stupid sometimes.
- pton_xd 11mo ago
  That's a charitable take. It was them joking about how to leverage his power to pressure her into a relationship. Also the woman's dad is the founding president of some major Chinese bank (AIIB) that he was cozying up to. Also a reminder, he was texting with Epstein up until the day before his arrest in 2019. Well past the point where Epstein was basically a meme for child abuse. Absolutely horrifying.
  - simianwords 11mo ago
    [flagged]
    - giraffe_lady 11mo ago
      When you got up this morning did you know that this is the fight you would be taking up today? It's not too late man just delete it and go back to bed, try a fresh start.
      - simianwords 11mo ago
        What specific part of what Larry said in the emails was so egregious that he needed to resign? What’s wrong in simply asking people advice to sleep around?
        piva00 11mo ago
        Simply asking, at that point, a well known human trafficker for advice on how to leverage his power to sleep around. You have no issue with that?
add-sub-mul-div 11mo ago
Actual unedited title: "Larry Summers resigns from OpenAI board after release of emails with Epstein"
- rchaud 11mo ago
  It might have gotten flagged as political content if the full title was used.
- pton_xd 11mo ago
  Reid Hoffman already resigned so I guess, kudos to him for getting ahead of the curve!
  - dylan604 11mo ago
    Next up will be selling of shares to finance defense teams
- foobarian 11mo ago
  Title as interpreted by me: "Larry Summers was on the OpenAI board this whole time"
  - pphysch 11mo ago
    Echoes of Kissinger on Theranos' board (and many other examples, no doubt).
    - wantlotsofcurry 11mo ago
      I had to look this up. That is absolutely insane…
      - dylan604 11mo ago
        If you don't have time for the book, there's a decent documentary available
      - 11mo ago
ZeroConcerns 11mo ago
Well, good to see Hahhvuhhhd is not above the British monarchy when it comes to eventually ejecting sex pests! A low bar to clear, but well done! Now, just for certain ex-Brit colonies to follow their example! Quick... who can think of a popular leader who is, ehhhm, quite intricately linked to the same, ehh, gentleman with pretty specific tastes? Anyone?
- pessimizer 11mo ago
  And, to be less coy, how is the opposition party the one that treats Bill Clinton as its most valuable elder statesman? It's somehow Epstein all the way down. Glad I'm a left-wing Chomskyite, cynical about all of those corrupt, elite institutions. Wait...
  - deleted 11mo ago
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  - stouset 11mo ago
    Bill Clinton hasn’t been relevant in politics for like twenty years. Nobody on the left thinks about or cares about him.
    - ZeroConcerns 11mo ago
      He's still extremely relevant, if only to derail discussions as demonstrated here. I'm waiting for someone to bring up Al Franken!
      - nemo 11mo ago
        Don't forget Ted Kennedy!
    - frmersdog 11mo ago
      Depends on how deep the pillow talk went during the Obama admin.
  - benhill70 11mo ago
ceo_tim_crook 11mo ago
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giantfrog 11mo ago
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- CodingJeebus 11mo ago
  You should really Google some of the emails he wrote to Epstein. Summers wasn't just friends with Epstein, he was Epstein's padawan.
  - ivraatiems 11mo ago
    I think you missed the sarcasm in the original post ;)
    - CodingJeebus 11mo ago
      ah crap, my gullibility strikes again
      - ncr100 11mo ago
        <3
      - nixosbestos 11mo ago
        Man, it's so understandable. Especially when 35-40% the country is doing exactly that kind of bullshit equivocative defense. Frankly I'm shocked the shitheads usually here read the room and have kept the child-rape apologia to themselves.
    - acdha 11mo ago
      Poe’s law applies too much these days. I’ve tried to get out of the habit of leaving jokes ambiguous like that because it’s just too easy to trip readers up, especially when not everyone has native level awareness of idioms or social context.
      - giraffe_lady 11mo ago
        Part of the problem is also frankly that HN has a culture that encourages serious engagement (or at least a facsimile of it) with the worst opinions it's possible to have. You just can't keep your sense for sincerity finely honed in an environment like that.
jmyeet 11mo ago
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- jrochkind1 11mo ago
  The likely most damning/embaressing thing that has led to Summers resignations -- being a powerful 65-year-old man trying to pressure a 37-year-old mentee into having sex/relationship with you -- is considered (by me too) icky and unethical and an abuse of power, undoubtedly a violation of many ethics codes and depending on how it's done possibly some laws -- but is not actually anything to do with pedophilia or child abuse at all. i know we like expanding the categories of all sins and then only refering to things by category name without the specifics, but.
- rchaud 11mo ago
  Well it's a good thing that the DOJ and FBI have highly qualified and totally non-partisan bosses that will see to it that justice will be done /s
  - foobarian 11mo ago
    I'm sure I don't know what you mean. The FBI director is such a good guy he even writes children's books.
- frankfrank13 11mo ago
  Alternatively, there is no justice, and even the truth is lost to partisan politics. I have a strange feeling this benefits foreign intelligence, not harms it. Mossad, for example, knows who slipped through the cracks. Knows how much worse the "truth" is beyond the code names and vague emails. Now they have more power, not less.
  - jmyeet 11mo ago
    This kind of thing can only exist in a climate of apathy and nihilism. The powerful want you to think the situation is hopeless and nothing will change. But remember this: at no point in history has a steady state been maintained for significant periods of time. Ever. We are at a dangerous point in history. I personally believe that inequality is inevitably going to end in violence and we're beyuond the point of avoiding this with electoral politics. People are struggling to eat and survive at a time where we'll likely mint our first trillionaire in our lifetimes. This simply can't continue. I'm personally for outing wealthy and powerful pedophiles who are meaningfully making all of our lives worse to accrue completely unnecessary extra wealth.
lvl155 11mo ago
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- alpb 11mo ago
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  - zapataband2 11mo ago
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- carabiner 11mo ago
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- game_the0ry 11mo ago
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- turbonegrofa 11mo ago
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- 0xcafefood 11mo ago
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- tptacek 11mo ago
  Why? He was one of the most prominent economists of his era. This is in the news because it's newsworthy, not because he's been radioactive this whole time.
  - handwarmers 11mo ago
    Why not? He was a part of a pretty radioactive network of people. I doubt that he just happened to hang with Epstein by mere coincidence, and it does raise some questions about how much Sheryl knew about it.
    - 11mo ago
SilverElfin 11mo ago
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- e584 11mo ago
  The story goes way beyond the abuse itself, they were videotaping everything to black mail other rich people and even world leaders... it's one of the biggest scandals in American history and it's about more than Epstein alone.
- tastyface 11mo ago
  Why is it such a big deal that many of our leaders (including Numero Uno) are likely rapists and pedophiles? I don’t even know how to answer that question.
  - SilverElfin 11mo ago
    Like I said - it’s reprehensible. I’m not minimizing the crime but pointing out there are bigger problems. Focusing on this instead of inflation or housing or healthcare means a lot more people will suffer than there are victims of Epstein. We have to prioritize. If too much attention and energy goes to this, bigger problems will be left unaddressed. The things I’m listing are occupying virtually none of the national focus right now, for example.
    - stevesimmons 11mo ago
      Why do you think the current government would be the slightest bit interested in solutions to housing, inflation or healthcare if Epstein wasn't an issue?
    - bigyabai 11mo ago
      > Focusing on this instead of inflation or housing or healthcare > The things I’m listing are occupying virtually none of the national focus right now, for example. Have you forgotten why the government was shut down last month? What an embarrassing comment. I hope you don't mind me linking this back to you once the files are released in full.
agodacenter 11mo ago
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drivingmenuts 11mo ago
It’s interesting that only now he is stepping back now that he’s been found out. It demonstrates that it’s not about ethics or morals, but about publicity and damage control.
- egillie 11mo ago
  most of what we know today we knew years ago, too
- zem 11mo ago
  it's the good old eleventh commandment, "thou shalt not get caught"
- naIak 11mo ago
  I understand you want to highlight this, but you don’t have to begin your sentence with "It's interesting that..." because this is not interesting or novel in the slightest.
  - lcnPylGDnU4H9OF 11mo ago
    You are entitled to your opinion and they theirs.
  - drivingmenuts 11mo ago
    It's interesting to me because how the hell did he think this was going to end? "Innocent until proven guilty" doesn't work in the court of public opinion. So, if one was even peripherally associated with Epstein, it would seem like that would be a hell of a liability. On a side note, did Epstein have employees on his sex island and what happened to them?
  - JKCalhoun 11mo ago
    I assume that someone begining a sentence that way is implying "It is interesting to me that…" and I cut them some slack.
- bamboozled 11mo ago
  The tax paying class of the world just have to watch all this horseshit go on, watch the institutions and the law enforcement agencies protect these people with our hard earned money, meanwhile if we break a single law, there are consequences for us, sometimes massive. It's a bullshit world we're living in, but I guess it's always been the same? It seems for the wealthy, raping children is an acceptable pastime and we're just supposed to accept that it's ok?
deleted 11mo ago
[deleted]
seydor 11mo ago
This guy Epstein modus operandi of cozying up and becoming wingman to powerful people confirms that he was some kind of spy. But it's still weird to see a well known professor of 61 years texting about gurlz to his middle aged wingman. Who does that and is this really what millionaires do, reliving high school?
- kenjackson 11mo ago
  I really think there is so much variance to how people live. Looking at some of the Epstein emails I'm floored by the behavior. It really seems like middle schoolers. And the racist chats that came out from the Young Republican group earlier this year -- I can't imagine ever being a part of a chat group like that. I would literally think I was being pranked or they were genuinely crazy racists, but they were actual early leaders of one of our two major political parties. The thing that perplexes me is that these people aren't in poverty or victims of some violent trauma. They are among the elites of the country -- and yet this is still how they behave -- are these people a niche group or am I?
  - braebo 11mo ago
    Most people are followers whose belief systems are spoon fed to them by the largest village willing to accept them. Understanding cult psychology and the agendas of the people driving the bus is typically enough to understand their worldviews and subsequent behavior. That’s just my gut read on it..
  - reverius42 11mo ago
    > they were genuinely crazy racists, but they were actual early leaders of one of our two major political parties Why not both?
  - _yb2s 11mo ago
    Unfortunately, the racist worldview on display in those chats is extremely widespread- and you are in a uniquely small privileged group if you’re neither on the receiving or delivering end. A lot of middle class and wealthy people are victims of trauma. If you grow up in a house with violently racist and hateful authoritarian parents you will be deeply traumatized, and likely end up just like your parents. Wealth does not protect people from emotional trauma.
alex1138 11mo ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVG5V7FzB_Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVG5V7FzB_Q
zapataband2 11mo ago
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booleanbetrayal 11mo ago
I have loathed Larry Summers since the repeal of Glass-Steagall. He has consistently treated the American public like he treats women in the Epstein emails. So glad he's finally getting his comeuppance.
- game_the0ry 11mo ago
  Not enough, if you ask me. He should be publicly shamed and humiliated. Truly one of the most evil maniacs of our time.
  - dylan604 11mo ago
    Is that not what is happening?
    - ceejayoz 11mo ago
      I mean, he’s still teaching. For now.
      - SequoiaHope 11mo ago
        Gotta be a matter of time unless the place he teaches truly has no principles.
        seizethecheese 11mo ago
        He teaches at Harvard.
        antonvs 11mo ago
        Harvard has principles. They're spelled d-o-l-l-a-r-s.
        bilbo0s 11mo ago
        No such place. Not in today's world. If you give a school enough evidence. Like, say, this email. Your career there is done. And that's any school.
legitster 11mo ago
So far, what has been revealed in the documents is embarrassing, but not necessarily implicating: https://searchepsteinfiles.com/person/163 https://searchepsteinfiles.com/person/163 For the most part, the threads are a mix of: - Really cringe dating advice - Epstein connecting Summers with other important people - Dishing on Trump and his inner circle Given there were many more prominently featured people with more dirt in here, I wonder if Summers is worried there's a lot more that's about to be revealed.
- hintymad 11mo ago
  Epstein seemed to be a power broker and a political fixer. If so, naturally many high-profile people would have interacted with him and even have confided in him. It does not mean everyone associated with him knew or participated in his criminal activities, right?
  - huflungdung 11mo ago
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  - noitpmeder 11mo ago
    Agreed, but continued communication after he was found guilty of sex crimes is definitely a bright red flag.
    - hapless 11mo ago
      hang loose, young lady, i have to ask this sex criminal how best to respond to your latest message
    - hintymad 11mo ago
      absolutely
  - hapless 11mo ago
    he didn't have any power or ability to fix anything that didn't involve trafficking young girls he can "fix" you up with a teenager who will give you a private "massage"
perihelions 11mo ago
> "In other exchanges, Mr. Summers appeared to ask Mr. Epstein’s advice on how to pursue a romantic relationship" That's NYT-speak for "they joked crudely and overtly about pressuring the woman into unwilling sex". You can dump the New York Times and read competent writing here: https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2025/11/17/summers-epstein-wing-man-woman-described-as-mentee/ https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2025/11/17/summers-epstei... > "Summers went on to describe what he saw as his “best shot”: that the woman finds him “invaluable and interesting” and concludes “she can’t have it without romance / sex.”" I think it remarkable how the NYT buries (far down on the page), and CNBC omits altogether, the underlying story about what Larry Summers was actually doing. CNBC euphemizes the whole thing away to vapor (there were mails—the end). These aren't good expositions. (Speaking of the NYT' coverage, there's a new revelation one of their reporters actually helped Epstein evade scrutiny—it's another bit from the recently-disclosed email tranches. Their reporter Landon Thomas secretly tipped off Epstein that one of his NYT coworkers was "digging around" into Epstein—even gave Epstein the guy's name). https://bsky.app/profile/chrisgeidner.bsky.social/post/3m5hnvd4kv22c https://bsky.app/profile/chrisgeidner.bsky.social/post/3m5hn... ("Fall 2017: Then-NYT reporter literally warning Epstein that someone is "digging around again.")
- thaumasiotes 11mo ago
  > That's NYT-speak for "they joked crudely and overtly about pressuring the undergraduate into unwilling sex". You can dump the New York Times and read competent writing here: What undergraduate? According to the link you provide, she graduated in 2004 and was the subject of discussion between Epstein and Summers in 2018.
  - perihelions 11mo ago
    I got some of basic facts very wrong; I've removed that error.
einpoklum 11mo ago
On the contrary, he's the perfect man to be on OpenAI's board; before and after these extra revelations.
yahoozoo 11mo ago
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- tomhow 11mo ago
  We've banned this account for repeatedly posting dross like this. We detached this comment from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45983044 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45983044 and marked it off topic.
frankest 11mo ago
The big question here is are they involved with Epstein because they are in power, or did they get power because they had Epstein pull in favors for them. From the emails he seems like the big spider in a spider web. Both parties and so many people in power referred to him for critical problems, pulling strings in critical places (Bannon on behalf of Trump was getting his advice on how to discredit Kavanaugh opponents and Epstein obliged with medical information on one of the opponents to bring up at a hearing). Beyond Clinton, Obama’s attorney is mentioned a bunch as well. I’m sure the democrats had plenty of favors in too. My conclusion from information so far - this is a small subset of the files, and yet this seems like in a country where power should be divided to be balanced, a congealed network has been selecting and pulling the elites they want to the podium. The curation mechanism (may not be the only curation mechanism) has been people who are easy to manipulate by the network - too deep into perversions to ever come out of prison if they ever lost power. Thus more power and money becomes the only survival mechanism. If you want a real constitutional democracy in the US, can you EVER have it if past presidents, or the networks underneath them, or party leaders who have no term limits, have control over who gets nominated to that power next? It’s not two parties. It’s one party that seems to be playing a show for the masses while taking Yin and Yang turns at the helm.
- _yb2s 11mo ago
  It is reassuring that I am not the only one that sees this. These emails reveal a much bigger conspiracy than just the sex trafficking- that was just an in house blackmail material generator for him that he was using to control powerful people around the world. The emails also suggest he was selling blackmail material on US politicians to foreign adversaries.
  - red-iron-pine 11mo ago
    I mean that's the point -- blackmail powerful and influential people to do his bidding. That his madam (Ghislane) was the daughter of the guy who got Israel nukes and had some deeeeep ties to the Mossad is no surprise. FWIW said guy also had ties to UK Intelligence and the KGB, and he died mysteriously on a boat in the middle of nowhere.
jcgrillo 11mo ago
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- tomhow 11mo ago
  HN is not the place for wishing ill on people like this, no matter who it is or what they're accused of. The guidelines make it clear we're trying for something better here. We've had to ask you before not to heap scorn on people. Substantive criticism of someone's actions is fine. Wishing grave harm and humiliation on them is not. If you want to keep using HN, you need to stop doing this. Please take a moment to read the guidelines and make an effort to observe them in future. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
etc-hosts 11mo ago
A nice list of Summers' many crimes from over 10 years ago: https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2013/07/why-larry-summers-should-not-be-permitted-to-run-anything-more-important-than-a-dog-pound.html https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2013/07/why-larry-summers-sh...
- alex1138 11mo ago
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  - alex1138 11mo ago
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- 7e 11mo ago
  What laws were broken here?
  - amanaplanacanal 11mo ago
    Sounds more like incompetence.
  - idiotsecant 11mo ago
    Parent post is being metaphorical. In this case you can read 'many crimes' as 'many incredibly, unbelievably stupid decisions'. Hope that helps
    - 7e 11mo ago
      No, the parent comment is just false and possibly libelous. Hope that helps.
      - etc-hosts 11mo ago
        Any former resident of Soviet Union thinks Larry Summers is huge crime
- 11mo ago
tw1984 11mo ago
According to nypost news that Larry Summers sought guidance on how to get "horizontal" with Keyu Jin in emails to Jeffrey Epstein.
Metacelsus 11mo ago
Why was he even on the board to begin with?
- antonvs 11mo ago
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  - hughesdang 11mo ago
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- joshuaheard 11mo ago
  He is a economist who served as the Secretary of Treasury, as the president of Harvard University, and as director of the National Economic Council. Seems like he would be able to give them some good advice.
  - femiagbabiaka 11mo ago
    He was terrible at 2 out of three of those jobs. He ruined many people's lives. He was corrupt as hell. He shouldn't be welcome in polite society.. well I guess Epstein's inner circle isn't exactly polite society.
    - quanto 11mo ago
      Could you elaborate? Which two was he bad at? How did he ruin people's lives? Honestly asking.
      - femiagbabiaka 11mo ago
        I was referring to his stints as treasury secretary and on the NEC, during which he championed a worldview that saw economics as being science, with immutable laws, that inevitably led to policy outcomes that caused the explosion in income inequality that we've seen since 2008 especially. The U.S. would be in a better place if he was never in the Obama or Clinton admins. But now that I think about it, the email leaks show that he was sexually harassing women while he was at Harvard too. So he was terrible at all three jobs.
jameslk 11mo ago
Why is this on the front page of HN other than the mention of OpenAI? The article barely even mentions how this is related to OpenAI. What’s notable about this event other than this person is disliked by many?
- Mon0t0n 11mo ago
  lmao computer programmer failing to understand social relations
- randycupertino 11mo ago
  It's newsworthy because he's a prominent economic leader who has been at the center of U.S. economic policy, elite academia, and global finance for decades. He's held almost every marquee job an economist can have, Treasury Secretary under Clinton, Director of the National Economic Council under Obama, Chief economist of world bank, president of Harvard, connected at IMF and an influential voice on inflation, interest rates, fiscal policy, and banking regulations. He's a trusted voice in the VC world, was on the board of Square, an advisor at A16z/Andreessen Horowitz and involved in crypto/blockchain as an advisor to one of the major crypto VCs.
  - jameslk 11mo ago
    Thank you for the context! I genuinely didn’t know anything about this person until recently
catlover76 11mo ago
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lordnacho 11mo ago
If there's one big surprise in my adult life, as in, a thing I didn't expect when I was a kid, it was the seemingly pervasive extent of sexual exploitation done by powerful men, and the fact they they seem to all help each other in doing this. I always thought that powerful guys got laid without really having to force anyone to sleep with them. You know, the stereotypical "be confident, look prosperous and healthy" and women will be attracted to you. The weird thing is, I think that actually does work! Even if you're not famous, having a few of those qualities has seemed to work for most guys I know. So why are there so many famous guys who end up getting caught forcing themselves on multiple people? If you look at how few cases end up going to trial, there must be even more guys who are getting away with it. Not only that, the extent of the numbers. A guy like Weinstein must have been a full-time sex criminal. Constant, multiple times a day, like a busy salesman who meets clients three times a day. I don't want to make a joke of something so serious, but don't you get enough? Isn't it tiring and tedious? The other side of this is the club. How can it be that they all seem to know each other? Most people tend to keep their sex lives private. If you're committing a crime, AND you're a public person, why would you find other people to do that with? It that part of the power trip?
- AlecSchueler 11mo ago
  I think the scarier thing is that this is actually happening in all walks of life, but it only gets widely publicised when it concerns rich, powerful or famous men. The thing that surprised me most growing up was learning how inevitable sexual assault is for basically all women. I've never been close to any woman who couldn't tell me multiple stories of being harassed, assaulted or coerced.

334 points by koolba 11mo ago

koolba 11mo ago

In related news, Harvard is also launching its own investigation into its former president Summers: https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2025/11/19/harvard-opens-investigation-into-summers-epstein/ https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2025/11/19/harvard-opens-...

pessimizer 11mo ago
MIT and NYT need to get back on it, too. Lots of people still not feeling any consequences, much like Epstein during life. The girls were threatened more than he ever was (and still are.) It seems like the NYT was cackling in glee just a couple months ago, saying that even Trump had to finally buck the conspiracy theories of his evil, ignorant MAGA followers and admit that there was absolutely nothing to see and nothing interesting about the Epstein case and it's actually silly that you would think there was. Nice that MAGA demands accountability from Trump in a way Democrats don't from their leaders. It's also telling that the NYT is the only major outlet to consistently be reticent to state unequivocally that Epstein killed himself. Always said "found to have committed suicide." Somebody there with editorial veto control knows that flimsy story isn't going to last forever. Even if he hadn't been made cellmates with an insane strangler murder cop with nothing to lose, hadn't said that the "suicide attempt" was insane murder cop trying to kill him, and was taken off suicide watch one day after that "suicide attempt." The night Jeffrey Epstein claimed his cellmate tried to kill him, CBS News 2025/09/22 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jeffrey-epstein-claimed-cellmate-tried-to-kill-him/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jeffrey-epstein-claimed-cellmat... Nicholas Tartaglione https://www.lohud.com/story/news/crime/2019/09/23/feds-how-nicholas-tartaglione-killed-martin-luna/2416640001/ https://www.lohud.com/story/news/crime/2019/09/23/feds-how-n... [edit: re Tartaglione, who never had the slightest chance of ever getting out of prison. Has anybody checked if the financial situation of his family changed for the better since the incident?]
- ternaryoperator 11mo ago
  > It's also telling that the NYT is the only major outlet to consistently be reticent to state unequivocally that Epstein killed himself. Always said "found to have committed suicide." Nonsense. "...Mr. Epstein, who died by suicide... [0] "...disgraced financier who died by suicide...[1] etc. [0] https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/us/politics/trump-epstein-files.html https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/us/politics/trump-epstein... [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/us/politics/trump-epstein-emails.html https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/us/politics/trump-epstein...
- lo_zamoyski 11mo ago
  > Nice that MAGA demands accountability from Trump in a way Democrats don't from their leaders. This doesn't accord with experience. MAGA is notorious for rationalizing anything Trump says or does. The uniparty is a rotten, spiraling race to the bottom.
  - yahoozoo 11mo ago
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    - DonHopkins 11mo ago
      Only because Trump told them to push it first. His problem is that he changed his mind.
      - catlover76 11mo ago
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    - overfeed 11mo ago
      MAGA was pushing for it when they believed it was a liberal conspiracy, with the Clintons trafficking children and "harvesting their adrenochrome" (see Comet Pizza incident). Now MAGA luminaries are suggesting grown men abusing minors isn't that creepy if the victims are teenaged - so much for protecting the kids.
senderista 11mo ago
OMG the correspondence described there is disgusting: Summers seeking advice from Epstein on how to turn a mentoring relationship into a romantic one.
- deleted 11mo ago
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benzible 11mo ago
The one-time head of the most elite academic institution as well as the US Treasury is an insecure 12 year old boy at heart. Summers clearly saw Epstein as aspirational for his "success" with "women". But this isn't really new information about him. In 2005 he went in front of an audience including top women scientists at the National Bureau of Economic Research and essentially said the lack of women at the top of science was mostly about their lack of innate aptitude, not discrimination [1] (he gave multiple alternate "theories" but it was clear which one he actually believed). People immediately saw that for what it was: a powerful guy projecting his own hang-ups about women. That he's maintained his status over the last 20 years does not speak well of the US's most prestigious institutions. https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2005/2/18/full-transcript-president-summers-remarks-at/ https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2005/2/18/full-transcript...
arresin 11mo ago
I find it hard to believe that they’re only finding out now.
- FridgeSeal 11mo ago
  Better to be _seen_ to be doing something later, than to have it pointed out.
- epistasis 11mo ago
  I don't think anybody knew the extent of relationships with Epstein that were revealed when 20k email messages were dumped onto the world. I have long been a hater of Summers, but had no indication that he was involved with Epstein like this. I could understand others at Harvard not knowing, unless they had access to Summers' personal email somehow. Chomsky, another person who I have long hated (for setting back linguistics with his extreme bullying, the dominance of bad theory, and the resistance to actually studying languages before they go extinct, etc etc etc). And though I knew there was some connection to Epstein, as many intellectuals had connections to him, I had no idea it was to that extent. All this is to say that even opponents of Epstein's confidants didn't know the extent of connection, and I'm not surprised that others are Harvard didn't know.
  - watwut 11mo ago
    I mean, there are other harward people making very similar consultations with Epstein. It seems to be more of "influencial harward people support each other" situation. Plus, there are harward people who complained about these harward people for years and claim to not be surprised.
- safety1st 11mo ago
  The thing to understand about Summers is that he is basically the guy that charted the course to where America is today. Enormously influential, he provided the intellectual gravitas as well as the raw policymaking muscle for a version of the US economy that was financialized, globalized, and monopolized. If you're broke in 2025, Larry Summers probably had something to do with it. Anything that will knock this guy down many many pegs is worthwhile imo.

squillion 11mo ago

Let's not forget that time he advocated for dumping toxic waste in poor countries. "I think the economic logic behind dumping a load of toxic waste in the lowest wage country is impeccable and we should face up to that." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summers_memo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summers_memo

hyperman1 11mo ago
Wow. That text is wild! Another excerpt: I've always thought that under-populated countries in Africa are vastly UNDER-polluted, their air quality is probably vastly inefficiently low compared to Los Angeles or Mexico City.
- recursive 11mo ago
  The /s was supposed to be implied.
- datatrashfire 11mo ago
  Would you accept 0 pollution if it meant you had no electricity, electronic devices, or access to transportation? All of those things create pollution.
  - estimator7292 11mo ago
    Hey, you probably don't want to sympathize with a guy that everyone around you thinks is irredeemably evil. And if you do still want to sympathize with such, maybe examine that motivation for like three seconds.
    - Dracophoenix 11mo ago
      "Bad" people can still have good ideas or well-thought arguments. It happens often enough to have become became a clichéd meme. https://clickhole.com/heartbreaking-the-worst-person-you-know-just-made-a-gr-1825121606/ https://clickhole.com/heartbreaking-the-worst-person-you-kno...

Teever 11mo ago

There's an interesting list of criticisms about Larry Summers here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15320922 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15320922 Based on an interview that I've seen of him a few years ago and these emails between him and Epstein he seems kind of... not smart? It raises a really interesting question which is how do people like him climb so high up the ladder?

JKCalhoun 11mo ago
What do you mean? I assumed he was cozied up to by the likes of Epstein because he had already ascended the ladder. I see, because you think he's "not smart"… Yeah, I think "smart" and "makes smart choices" are two different things.
- Teever 11mo ago
  According to wikipedia: > Summers's ties to Epstein reportedly began "a number of years...before Summers became Harvard's president and even before he was the Secretary of the Treasury."[59] Flight records introduced as evidence in the 2021 trial of Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell show that Summers flew on Jeffrey Epstein's private plane on at least four occasions, including once in 1998 when Summers was United States Deputy Secretary of the Treasury and at least three times while Harvard president. And on the wikipedia page of Summers' wife: > In an email to Epstein released in 2025 by the House Oversight Committee, New mentioned a recorded but unreleased episode of Poetry in America featuring Woody Allen, who was introduced to New by Epstein. In an email to Epstein, New mentioned she would reread Lolita (a book Epstein was known to have by his bedside) and, separately, recommended he read My Ántonia by Willa Cather, describing both as stories of 'a man whose whole life is stamped forever by his impression of a young girl[20][21]. I recently listened to a podcast about Robert Maxwell[0], the father of Ghislaine Maxwell and in the second part of the podcast they went into great detail about Maxwell's publishing empire and how he apparently started the modern academic publishing industry as we know it. It seems like Epstein learned from Maxwell's father the technique of finding academics who have desirable resources whether they be intellectual or social and then cultivating relationships with them by offering them what they always wanted but never felt they had be it academic recognition from peers in the form of positions at journals or conferences or dates/sex with young beautiful women and/or girls. Attention from peers and women/girls is like a kryptonite to nerds like Larry Summers, his wife, or Marvin Minsky and Epstein was able to parlay that influence on these nerds to influence the wealthy and powerful. But the question of how Summers got into the position that he found himself in still remains. You listen to the man speak and he isn't very smart. He continued a personal relationship with a convicted pedophile and sought dating advice from this person. The more you dig into this Summers guy and his wife the more you realize they're just... dumb. As an outsider looking in I'm starting to wonder if this world is just a bunch of academically capable but socially stunted individuals being preyed on by socially voracious people like Epstein with no morals? [0] https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/part-one-robert-maxwell-how-ghislaine-maxwells-dad/id1373812661?i=1000706496292 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/part-one-robert-maxwel...

black_13 11mo ago

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alex1138 11mo ago

"Winklevoss twins are assholes [but I have nothing substantive to say against their claim of product theft]" - LS

strathmeyer 11mo ago

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johnwheeler 11mo ago

I saw the email correspondence between him and Epstein. The sense that I got is he's pursuing some young girl half his age. And he actually thinks that she is attracted to him. Powerful, ugly men are so stupid sometimes.

pton_xd 11mo ago
That's a charitable take. It was them joking about how to leverage his power to pressure her into a relationship. Also the woman's dad is the founding president of some major Chinese bank (AIIB) that he was cozying up to. Also a reminder, he was texting with Epstein up until the day before his arrest in 2019. Well past the point where Epstein was basically a meme for child abuse. Absolutely horrifying.
- simianwords 11mo ago
  [flagged]
  - giraffe_lady 11mo ago
    When you got up this morning did you know that this is the fight you would be taking up today? It's not too late man just delete it and go back to bed, try a fresh start.
    - simianwords 11mo ago
      What specific part of what Larry said in the emails was so egregious that he needed to resign? What’s wrong in simply asking people advice to sleep around?
      - piva00 11mo ago
        Simply asking, at that point, a well known human trafficker for advice on how to leverage his power to sleep around. You have no issue with that?

add-sub-mul-div 11mo ago

Actual unedited title: "Larry Summers resigns from OpenAI board after release of emails with Epstein"

rchaud 11mo ago
It might have gotten flagged as political content if the full title was used.
pton_xd 11mo ago
Reid Hoffman already resigned so I guess, kudos to him for getting ahead of the curve!
- dylan604 11mo ago
  Next up will be selling of shares to finance defense teams
foobarian 11mo ago
Title as interpreted by me: "Larry Summers was on the OpenAI board this whole time"
- pphysch 11mo ago
  Echoes of Kissinger on Theranos' board (and many other examples, no doubt).
  - wantlotsofcurry 11mo ago
    I had to look this up. That is absolutely insane…
    - dylan604 11mo ago
      If you don't have time for the book, there's a decent documentary available
    - 11mo ago

ZeroConcerns 11mo ago

Well, good to see Hahhvuhhhd is not above the British monarchy when it comes to eventually ejecting sex pests! A low bar to clear, but well done! Now, just for certain ex-Brit colonies to follow their example! Quick... who can think of a popular leader who is, ehhhm, quite intricately linked to the same, ehh, gentleman with pretty specific tastes? Anyone?

pessimizer 11mo ago
And, to be less coy, how is the opposition party the one that treats Bill Clinton as its most valuable elder statesman? It's somehow Epstein all the way down. Glad I'm a left-wing Chomskyite, cynical about all of those corrupt, elite institutions. Wait...
- deleted 11mo ago
  [deleted]
- stouset 11mo ago
  Bill Clinton hasn’t been relevant in politics for like twenty years. Nobody on the left thinks about or cares about him.
  - ZeroConcerns 11mo ago
    He's still extremely relevant, if only to derail discussions as demonstrated here. I'm waiting for someone to bring up Al Franken!
    - nemo 11mo ago
      Don't forget Ted Kennedy!
  - frmersdog 11mo ago
    Depends on how deep the pillow talk went during the Obama admin.
- benhill70 11mo ago

ceo_tim_crook 11mo ago

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giantfrog 11mo ago

[flagged]

CodingJeebus 11mo ago
You should really Google some of the emails he wrote to Epstein. Summers wasn't just friends with Epstein, he was Epstein's padawan.
- ivraatiems 11mo ago
  I think you missed the sarcasm in the original post ;)
  - CodingJeebus 11mo ago
    ah crap, my gullibility strikes again
    - ncr100 11mo ago
      <3
    - nixosbestos 11mo ago
      Man, it's so understandable. Especially when 35-40% the country is doing exactly that kind of bullshit equivocative defense. Frankly I'm shocked the shitheads usually here read the room and have kept the child-rape apologia to themselves.
  - acdha 11mo ago
    Poe’s law applies too much these days. I’ve tried to get out of the habit of leaving jokes ambiguous like that because it’s just too easy to trip readers up, especially when not everyone has native level awareness of idioms or social context.
    - giraffe_lady 11mo ago
      Part of the problem is also frankly that HN has a culture that encourages serious engagement (or at least a facsimile of it) with the worst opinions it's possible to have. You just can't keep your sense for sincerity finely honed in an environment like that.

jmyeet 11mo ago

[flagged]

jrochkind1 11mo ago
The likely most damning/embaressing thing that has led to Summers resignations -- being a powerful 65-year-old man trying to pressure a 37-year-old mentee into having sex/relationship with you -- is considered (by me too) icky and unethical and an abuse of power, undoubtedly a violation of many ethics codes and depending on how it's done possibly some laws -- but is not actually anything to do with pedophilia or child abuse at all. i know we like expanding the categories of all sins and then only refering to things by category name without the specifics, but.
rchaud 11mo ago
Well it's a good thing that the DOJ and FBI have highly qualified and totally non-partisan bosses that will see to it that justice will be done /s
- foobarian 11mo ago
  I'm sure I don't know what you mean. The FBI director is such a good guy he even writes children's books.
frankfrank13 11mo ago
Alternatively, there is no justice, and even the truth is lost to partisan politics. I have a strange feeling this benefits foreign intelligence, not harms it. Mossad, for example, knows who slipped through the cracks. Knows how much worse the "truth" is beyond the code names and vague emails. Now they have more power, not less.
- jmyeet 11mo ago
  This kind of thing can only exist in a climate of apathy and nihilism. The powerful want you to think the situation is hopeless and nothing will change. But remember this: at no point in history has a steady state been maintained for significant periods of time. Ever. We are at a dangerous point in history. I personally believe that inequality is inevitably going to end in violence and we're beyuond the point of avoiding this with electoral politics. People are struggling to eat and survive at a time where we'll likely mint our first trillionaire in our lifetimes. This simply can't continue. I'm personally for outing wealthy and powerful pedophiles who are meaningfully making all of our lives worse to accrue completely unnecessary extra wealth.

lvl155 11mo ago

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alpb 11mo ago
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- zapataband2 11mo ago
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carabiner 11mo ago
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game_the0ry 11mo ago
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turbonegrofa 11mo ago
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0xcafefood 11mo ago
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tptacek 11mo ago
Why? He was one of the most prominent economists of his era. This is in the news because it's newsworthy, not because he's been radioactive this whole time.
- handwarmers 11mo ago
  Why not? He was a part of a pretty radioactive network of people. I doubt that he just happened to hang with Epstein by mere coincidence, and it does raise some questions about how much Sheryl knew about it.
  - 11mo ago

SilverElfin 11mo ago

[flagged]

e584 11mo ago
The story goes way beyond the abuse itself, they were videotaping everything to black mail other rich people and even world leaders... it's one of the biggest scandals in American history and it's about more than Epstein alone.
tastyface 11mo ago
Why is it such a big deal that many of our leaders (including Numero Uno) are likely rapists and pedophiles? I don’t even know how to answer that question.
- SilverElfin 11mo ago
  Like I said - it’s reprehensible. I’m not minimizing the crime but pointing out there are bigger problems. Focusing on this instead of inflation or housing or healthcare means a lot more people will suffer than there are victims of Epstein. We have to prioritize. If too much attention and energy goes to this, bigger problems will be left unaddressed. The things I’m listing are occupying virtually none of the national focus right now, for example.
  - stevesimmons 11mo ago
    Why do you think the current government would be the slightest bit interested in solutions to housing, inflation or healthcare if Epstein wasn't an issue?
  - bigyabai 11mo ago
    > Focusing on this instead of inflation or housing or healthcare > The things I’m listing are occupying virtually none of the national focus right now, for example. Have you forgotten why the government was shut down last month? What an embarrassing comment. I hope you don't mind me linking this back to you once the files are released in full.

agodacenter 11mo ago

[flagged]

drivingmenuts 11mo ago

It’s interesting that only now he is stepping back now that he’s been found out. It demonstrates that it’s not about ethics or morals, but about publicity and damage control.

egillie 11mo ago
most of what we know today we knew years ago, too
zem 11mo ago
it's the good old eleventh commandment, "thou shalt not get caught"
naIak 11mo ago
I understand you want to highlight this, but you don’t have to begin your sentence with "It's interesting that..." because this is not interesting or novel in the slightest.
- lcnPylGDnU4H9OF 11mo ago
  You are entitled to your opinion and they theirs.
- drivingmenuts 11mo ago
  It's interesting to me because how the hell did he think this was going to end? "Innocent until proven guilty" doesn't work in the court of public opinion. So, if one was even peripherally associated with Epstein, it would seem like that would be a hell of a liability. On a side note, did Epstein have employees on his sex island and what happened to them?
- JKCalhoun 11mo ago
  I assume that someone begining a sentence that way is implying "It is interesting to me that…" and I cut them some slack.
bamboozled 11mo ago
The tax paying class of the world just have to watch all this horseshit go on, watch the institutions and the law enforcement agencies protect these people with our hard earned money, meanwhile if we break a single law, there are consequences for us, sometimes massive. It's a bullshit world we're living in, but I guess it's always been the same? It seems for the wealthy, raping children is an acceptable pastime and we're just supposed to accept that it's ok?

deleted 11mo ago

[deleted]

seydor 11mo ago

This guy Epstein modus operandi of cozying up and becoming wingman to powerful people confirms that he was some kind of spy. But it's still weird to see a well known professor of 61 years texting about gurlz to his middle aged wingman. Who does that and is this really what millionaires do, reliving high school?

kenjackson 11mo ago
I really think there is so much variance to how people live. Looking at some of the Epstein emails I'm floored by the behavior. It really seems like middle schoolers. And the racist chats that came out from the Young Republican group earlier this year -- I can't imagine ever being a part of a chat group like that. I would literally think I was being pranked or they were genuinely crazy racists, but they were actual early leaders of one of our two major political parties. The thing that perplexes me is that these people aren't in poverty or victims of some violent trauma. They are among the elites of the country -- and yet this is still how they behave -- are these people a niche group or am I?
- braebo 11mo ago
  Most people are followers whose belief systems are spoon fed to them by the largest village willing to accept them. Understanding cult psychology and the agendas of the people driving the bus is typically enough to understand their worldviews and subsequent behavior. That’s just my gut read on it..
- reverius42 11mo ago
  > they were genuinely crazy racists, but they were actual early leaders of one of our two major political parties Why not both?
- _yb2s 11mo ago
  Unfortunately, the racist worldview on display in those chats is extremely widespread- and you are in a uniquely small privileged group if you’re neither on the receiving or delivering end. A lot of middle class and wealthy people are victims of trauma. If you grow up in a house with violently racist and hateful authoritarian parents you will be deeply traumatized, and likely end up just like your parents. Wealth does not protect people from emotional trauma.

alex1138 11mo ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVG5V7FzB_Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVG5V7FzB_Q

zapataband2 11mo ago

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booleanbetrayal 11mo ago

I have loathed Larry Summers since the repeal of Glass-Steagall. He has consistently treated the American public like he treats women in the Epstein emails. So glad he's finally getting his comeuppance.

game_the0ry 11mo ago
Not enough, if you ask me. He should be publicly shamed and humiliated. Truly one of the most evil maniacs of our time.
- dylan604 11mo ago
  Is that not what is happening?
  - ceejayoz 11mo ago
    I mean, he’s still teaching. For now.
    - SequoiaHope 11mo ago
      Gotta be a matter of time unless the place he teaches truly has no principles.
      - seizethecheese 11mo ago
        He teaches at Harvard.
        antonvs 11mo ago
        Harvard has principles. They're spelled d-o-l-l-a-r-s.
      - bilbo0s 11mo ago
        No such place. Not in today's world. If you give a school enough evidence. Like, say, this email. Your career there is done. And that's any school.

legitster 11mo ago

So far, what has been revealed in the documents is embarrassing, but not necessarily implicating: https://searchepsteinfiles.com/person/163 https://searchepsteinfiles.com/person/163 For the most part, the threads are a mix of: - Really cringe dating advice - Epstein connecting Summers with other important people - Dishing on Trump and his inner circle Given there were many more prominently featured people with more dirt in here, I wonder if Summers is worried there's a lot more that's about to be revealed.

hintymad 11mo ago
Epstein seemed to be a power broker and a political fixer. If so, naturally many high-profile people would have interacted with him and even have confided in him. It does not mean everyone associated with him knew or participated in his criminal activities, right?
- huflungdung 11mo ago
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- noitpmeder 11mo ago
  Agreed, but continued communication after he was found guilty of sex crimes is definitely a bright red flag.
  - hapless 11mo ago
    hang loose, young lady, i have to ask this sex criminal how best to respond to your latest message
  - hintymad 11mo ago
    absolutely
- hapless 11mo ago
  he didn't have any power or ability to fix anything that didn't involve trafficking young girls he can "fix" you up with a teenager who will give you a private "massage"

perihelions 11mo ago

> "In other exchanges, Mr. Summers appeared to ask Mr. Epstein’s advice on how to pursue a romantic relationship" That's NYT-speak for "they joked crudely and overtly about pressuring the woman into unwilling sex". You can dump the New York Times and read competent writing here: https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2025/11/17/summers-epstein-wing-man-woman-described-as-mentee/ https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2025/11/17/summers-epstei... > "Summers went on to describe what he saw as his “best shot”: that the woman finds him “invaluable and interesting” and concludes “she can’t have it without romance / sex.”" I think it remarkable how the NYT buries (far down on the page), and CNBC omits altogether, the underlying story about what Larry Summers was actually doing. CNBC euphemizes the whole thing away to vapor (there were mails—the end). These aren't good expositions. (Speaking of the NYT' coverage, there's a new revelation one of their reporters actually helped Epstein evade scrutiny—it's another bit from the recently-disclosed email tranches. Their reporter Landon Thomas secretly tipped off Epstein that one of his NYT coworkers was "digging around" into Epstein—even gave Epstein the guy's name). https://bsky.app/profile/chrisgeidner.bsky.social/post/3m5hnvd4kv22c https://bsky.app/profile/chrisgeidner.bsky.social/post/3m5hn... ("Fall 2017: Then-NYT reporter literally warning Epstein that someone is "digging around again.")

thaumasiotes 11mo ago
> That's NYT-speak for "they joked crudely and overtly about pressuring the undergraduate into unwilling sex". You can dump the New York Times and read competent writing here: What undergraduate? According to the link you provide, she graduated in 2004 and was the subject of discussion between Epstein and Summers in 2018.
- perihelions 11mo ago
  I got some of basic facts very wrong; I've removed that error.

einpoklum 11mo ago

On the contrary, he's the perfect man to be on OpenAI's board; before and after these extra revelations.

yahoozoo 11mo ago

[flagged]

tomhow 11mo ago
We've banned this account for repeatedly posting dross like this. We detached this comment from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45983044 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45983044 and marked it off topic.

frankest 11mo ago

The big question here is are they involved with Epstein because they are in power, or did they get power because they had Epstein pull in favors for them. From the emails he seems like the big spider in a spider web. Both parties and so many people in power referred to him for critical problems, pulling strings in critical places (Bannon on behalf of Trump was getting his advice on how to discredit Kavanaugh opponents and Epstein obliged with medical information on one of the opponents to bring up at a hearing). Beyond Clinton, Obama’s attorney is mentioned a bunch as well. I’m sure the democrats had plenty of favors in too. My conclusion from information so far - this is a small subset of the files, and yet this seems like in a country where power should be divided to be balanced, a congealed network has been selecting and pulling the elites they want to the podium. The curation mechanism (may not be the only curation mechanism) has been people who are easy to manipulate by the network - too deep into perversions to ever come out of prison if they ever lost power. Thus more power and money becomes the only survival mechanism. If you want a real constitutional democracy in the US, can you EVER have it if past presidents, or the networks underneath them, or party leaders who have no term limits, have control over who gets nominated to that power next? It’s not two parties. It’s one party that seems to be playing a show for the masses while taking Yin and Yang turns at the helm.

_yb2s 11mo ago
It is reassuring that I am not the only one that sees this. These emails reveal a much bigger conspiracy than just the sex trafficking- that was just an in house blackmail material generator for him that he was using to control powerful people around the world. The emails also suggest he was selling blackmail material on US politicians to foreign adversaries.
- red-iron-pine 11mo ago
  I mean that's the point -- blackmail powerful and influential people to do his bidding. That his madam (Ghislane) was the daughter of the guy who got Israel nukes and had some deeeeep ties to the Mossad is no surprise. FWIW said guy also had ties to UK Intelligence and the KGB, and he died mysteriously on a boat in the middle of nowhere.

jcgrillo 11mo ago

[flagged]

tomhow 11mo ago
HN is not the place for wishing ill on people like this, no matter who it is or what they're accused of. The guidelines make it clear we're trying for something better here. We've had to ask you before not to heap scorn on people. Substantive criticism of someone's actions is fine. Wishing grave harm and humiliation on them is not. If you want to keep using HN, you need to stop doing this. Please take a moment to read the guidelines and make an effort to observe them in future. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

etc-hosts 11mo ago

A nice list of Summers' many crimes from over 10 years ago: https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2013/07/why-larry-summers-should-not-be-permitted-to-run-anything-more-important-than-a-dog-pound.html https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2013/07/why-larry-summers-sh...

alex1138 11mo ago
[flagged]
- alex1138 11mo ago
  [flagged]
7e 11mo ago
What laws were broken here?
- amanaplanacanal 11mo ago
  Sounds more like incompetence.
- idiotsecant 11mo ago
  Parent post is being metaphorical. In this case you can read 'many crimes' as 'many incredibly, unbelievably stupid decisions'. Hope that helps
  - 7e 11mo ago
    No, the parent comment is just false and possibly libelous. Hope that helps.
    - etc-hosts 11mo ago
      Any former resident of Soviet Union thinks Larry Summers is huge crime
11mo ago

tw1984 11mo ago

According to nypost news that Larry Summers sought guidance on how to get "horizontal" with Keyu Jin in emails to Jeffrey Epstein.

Metacelsus 11mo ago

Why was he even on the board to begin with?

antonvs 11mo ago
[flagged]
- hughesdang 11mo ago
  [flagged]
joshuaheard 11mo ago
He is a economist who served as the Secretary of Treasury, as the president of Harvard University, and as director of the National Economic Council. Seems like he would be able to give them some good advice.
- femiagbabiaka 11mo ago
  He was terrible at 2 out of three of those jobs. He ruined many people's lives. He was corrupt as hell. He shouldn't be welcome in polite society.. well I guess Epstein's inner circle isn't exactly polite society.
  - quanto 11mo ago
    Could you elaborate? Which two was he bad at? How did he ruin people's lives? Honestly asking.
    - femiagbabiaka 11mo ago
      I was referring to his stints as treasury secretary and on the NEC, during which he championed a worldview that saw economics as being science, with immutable laws, that inevitably led to policy outcomes that caused the explosion in income inequality that we've seen since 2008 especially. The U.S. would be in a better place if he was never in the Obama or Clinton admins. But now that I think about it, the email leaks show that he was sexually harassing women while he was at Harvard too. So he was terrible at all three jobs.

jameslk 11mo ago

Why is this on the front page of HN other than the mention of OpenAI? The article barely even mentions how this is related to OpenAI. What’s notable about this event other than this person is disliked by many?

Mon0t0n 11mo ago
lmao computer programmer failing to understand social relations
randycupertino 11mo ago
It's newsworthy because he's a prominent economic leader who has been at the center of U.S. economic policy, elite academia, and global finance for decades. He's held almost every marquee job an economist can have, Treasury Secretary under Clinton, Director of the National Economic Council under Obama, Chief economist of world bank, president of Harvard, connected at IMF and an influential voice on inflation, interest rates, fiscal policy, and banking regulations. He's a trusted voice in the VC world, was on the board of Square, an advisor at A16z/Andreessen Horowitz and involved in crypto/blockchain as an advisor to one of the major crypto VCs.
- jameslk 11mo ago
  Thank you for the context! I genuinely didn’t know anything about this person until recently

catlover76 11mo ago

[dead]

lordnacho 11mo ago

If there's one big surprise in my adult life, as in, a thing I didn't expect when I was a kid, it was the seemingly pervasive extent of sexual exploitation done by powerful men, and the fact they they seem to all help each other in doing this. I always thought that powerful guys got laid without really having to force anyone to sleep with them. You know, the stereotypical "be confident, look prosperous and healthy" and women will be attracted to you. The weird thing is, I think that actually does work! Even if you're not famous, having a few of those qualities has seemed to work for most guys I know. So why are there so many famous guys who end up getting caught forcing themselves on multiple people? If you look at how few cases end up going to trial, there must be even more guys who are getting away with it. Not only that, the extent of the numbers. A guy like Weinstein must have been a full-time sex criminal. Constant, multiple times a day, like a busy salesman who meets clients three times a day. I don't want to make a joke of something so serious, but don't you get enough? Isn't it tiring and tedious? The other side of this is the club. How can it be that they all seem to know each other? Most people tend to keep their sex lives private. If you're committing a crime, AND you're a public person, why would you find other people to do that with? It that part of the power trip?

AlecSchueler 11mo ago
I think the scarier thing is that this is actually happening in all walks of life, but it only gets widely publicised when it concerns rich, powerful or famous men. The thing that surprised me most growing up was learning how inevitable sexual assault is for basically all women. I've never been close to any woman who couldn't tell me multiple stories of being harassed, assaulted or coerced.