Former official to quit public roles over Epstein emails

Former US treasury secretary Larry Summers announced on Monday that he will be "stepping back from public commitments" after the release of documents showing his email exchanges with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein.

"I am deeply ashamed of my actions and recognize the pain they have caused," Summers, president emeritus and professor at Harvard University, was quoted by US media as saying in a statement.

"I take full responsibility for my misguided decision to continue communicating with Mr Epstein," Summers said.

Both Democrats and Republicans have urged organizations to end their associations with Summers, after the House Oversight Committee released email exchanges between Epstein and Summers dating from 2013 to 2019.

Last Wednesday, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released Epstein-related documents.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives was expected to approve a motion on Tuesday that would force the Department of Justice to release its documents about Epstein, with passage seen as all but guaranteed after US President Donald Trump dropped his longstanding opposition.

Trump, who previously opposed the release of the documents, reversed his position after enough Republican representatives were prepared to vote to force the disclosure of the documents. "We have nothing to hide, and it's time to move on from this Democrat hoax perpetrated by radical left lunatics in order to deflect from the great success of the Republican Party," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday.

Trump said the Department of Justice had "already turned over tens of thousands of pages" of Epstein documents and was looking at "various Democrat operatives" who had been mentioned in the files, including former president Bill Clinton.

He accused Democrats in the House of releasing more than 20,000 pages of Epstein's emails — including one that said about Trump: "Of course he knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine (Maxwell) to stop" — because they had lost the government shutdown battle.

Some Republican representatives have said the Democrats were selectively releasing documents to make Trump look bad. Trump on Monday said he would sign the bill if it passes both chambers of Congress, adding, "Let the Senate look at it."

Epstein died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on child sex trafficking charges. His death was officially deemed a suicide, though conspiracy theories about his being murdered to silence him have not abated.

His former girlfriend, socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, was convicted of child sex trafficking and is currently serving a 20-year sentence.

Trump and Epstein knew each other and have been photographed together, but Trump said they had a falling out before Epstein was arrested, and the president has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

None of the emails released were sent or received by Trump.

The Epstein Files Transparency Act would require the Department of Justice to release, within 30 days, all unclassified documents related to the Epstein investigation, except for any personal information that may compromise the safety of victims or ongoing investigations.

Xinhua contributed to this story.

shiguang@chinadailyusa.com