New York, New York - Economist and former treasury secretary Larry Summers said he will step back from most public roles over his ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, saying he was "deeply ashamed" of his actions.

"I take full responsibility for my misguided decision to continue communicating with Mr. Epstein," Summers said in a statement cited by multiple outlets. "I am deeply ashamed of my actions and recognize the pain they have caused."

Summers served under ex-President Bill Clinton and later advised former commander-in-chief Barack Obama, as well as presiding over Harvard University in the early 2000s. Until now, he had combined his Harvard professorship with roles including board member at OpenAI and columnist at Bloomberg News.

Emails and text messages released recently by a US House committee showed extensive personal exchanges between Summers and Epstein, ending shortly before Epstein's second arrest in 2019 – but long after he was exposed as a pedophile. The messages included grossly misogynistic views.

Summers said he will continue teaching but withdraw from public commitments to rebuild trust and repair personal relationships. However, Senator Elizabeth Warren urged Harvard to cut ties with him, saying the revelations proved he "cannot be trusted to... teach a generation of students at Harvard or anywhere else."

Epstein sexually abused and trafficked dozens of women and minors over many years. He died in a New York jail in 2019 at the age of 66 in what officials ruled a suicide.

House lawmakers are expected to vote on Tuesday on whether to release investigative records related to the Epstein case.

It remains unclear whether the documents – which implicate elites from across the political spectrum, including President Donald Trump – will ultimately be made public.