Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers announced Nov. 17 he was stepping away from public engagements after newly released emails shed light on his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Correspondences between Summers and Epstein were among the 20,000 pages of emails related to the disgraced financier that were released Nov. 12 by the House Oversight Committee. In them, Summers, who served under President Bill Clinton, talked with Epstein about a range of topics, from current events to his personal love life.

In several emails, Summers appeared to seek advice from Epstein about a romantic relationship he had with a woman he described as a mentee, according to reporting from The Harvard Crimson.

The messages about the relationship began shortly before the Miami Herald’s November 2018 investigation into accusations from 80 women and girls against Epstein and continued until after the Department of Justice opened a 2019 investigation into a plea deal Epstein took in 2008 that allowed him to avoid federal sex trafficking charges.

Summers served as Harvard President from 2001 to 2006. He has been married since 2005.

Epstein is alleged to have sexually abused hundreds of women and girls and trafficked them to other men. He died in jail on sex trafficking charges in 2019.

"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 Nov. 17. "I take full responsibility for my misguided decision to continue communicating with Mr. Epstein."

Karissa Waddick, a reporter on USA TODAY's Nation Desk, can be reached at kwaddick@usatoday.com

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Larry Summers is under fire over Epstein emails. Here's why.

Reporting by Karissa Waddick and Marc Ramirez, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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