Larry Summers Cozied Up To Epstein, And Likely The CCP

For months, the Democrats have been advocating for the release of the so-called Epstein files, anticipating that they would uncover damaging information about President Donald Trump. However, following the recent release of over 20,000 documents by Congress, the spotlight has turned to prominent Democrat Larry Summers. His troubling connections with Jeffrey Epstein — and potentially the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) —  have raised significant concerns.

Summers has a storied career, having served as Treasury Secretary under President Bill Clinton, directed the National Economic Council under President Barack Obama, and led Harvard University as its president. In 2006, Summers was compelled to resign from his presidency at Harvard after suggesting that the lack of female scientists stemmed from “innate” differences between genders, igniting widespread backlash. Despite this controversy, Summers has remained a significant voice in our society, continuing to teach at Harvard and frequently advising U.S. government officials on crucial economic matters.

Beneath his esteemed titles, Summers is revealed to be a troubled individual. A recent Harvard Crimson report highlights newly released documents showing texts and emails exchanged between Summers and Epstein from November 2018 to July 2019. This timing is significant, as Epstein had pleaded guilty in 2008 to procuring a minor for prostitution — something Summers surely knew. Despite this, Summers maintained a close relationship with Epstein for nearly a decade and even sought advice from the registered sex offender on pursuing an extramarital affair with a mentee. This raises serious ethical concerns about Summers’ judgment.

Summers’ emails and messages reflected the excitement of a love-struck teenager rather than a cool-headed economist. In one message to Epstein, he wrote, “Game day at conference she was extremely good Smart Assertive and clear Gorgeous. I’m f*cked.” Summers forwarded several emails from his love interest to Epstein, who was his trusted “wingman.” They dissected the messages together, deliberating on how and when Summers should respond. Epstein clearly approved Summers’ strategic delay to respond, because “She’s already beginning to sound needy 🙂 nice,” wrote Epstein. The two also joked about the chances of Summers sleeping with the woman. Remarkably, their exchanges ended just one day before Epstein was arrested for new sex trafficking charges in 2019. Epstein later died in jail.

CCP Ties

The messages between Summers and Epstein are disturbing on their own but this seemingly personal scandal has an additional twist. Summers’ love interest was likely Keyu Jin, whose family is well connected inside the CCP. Although Summers never mentioned his love interest’s name, he forwarded several of Keyu’s emails to Epstein for advice without redacting her name.

Keyu’s father is Jin Liqun, a high-ranking CCP official who served as vice minister of finance and a founding president of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), an instrumental institution of Beijing’s Belt and Road initiative — a massive geopolitical strategy disguised as global infrastructure development.

Jin Liqun’s influence within the CCP afforded Keyu a privileged life. She was able to move to the U.S. as a high school student, an opportunity beyond the reach of many Chinese families. Later, Keyu earned her bachelor’s degree and Ph.D. at Harvard between 2000 and 2009. She took on a series of highly influential positions, including tenured professor at the London School of Economics and a member of the China Finance 40 Group, a major think tank in Beijing.

Keyu’s profile in China peaked when she was featured in the People’s Daily, the CCP’s leading publication. As a CCP observer noted on X.com, “Being featured in the People’s Daily typically indicates that an individual is considered the CCP’s own people. Otherwise, you don’t get this kind of treatment.”

In an email released by Congress, Keyu expressed her gratitude to Summers for supporting her and her father’s work. Mentorship from such a prominent economist has undoubtedly accelerated Keyu’s impressive rise in international economics and policy circles. However, the specifics of the “support” that Summers extended to her father remain ambiguous, which raises significant concerns that merit further attention.

One of Beijing’s Most Effective Promoters

Why did the CCP promote a young economist like Keyu? A recent podcast interview sheds light on this. Keyu praised China’s modern state capitalism while completely avoiding criticism of the government and Xi Jinping. As a trained economist, she surprisingly had little to say about China’s economic struggles and the flawed policies behind them. She trivialized the “3T issues” — Taiwan, Tiananmen, and Tibet — as mere cultural misunderstandings, ignoring the CCP’s associated human rights abuses.

Equally concerning was her claim that the Chinese government does not suppress entrepreneurs and private businesses. Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba, could have countered her assertion; he was forced to “disappear” for months after a mild criticism of regulators in 2020. Since then, he has lost half his wealth and control of Ant Financial, a key subsidiary. This incident also provided the CCP with an opportunity to intensify its crackdown on private enterprises. In neglecting these realities, Keyu’s views seem alarmingly disconnected from the reality in China.

Yet her flawless English and polished demeanor make her a strong representative of the CCP globally. By effectively sharing the official version of “China’s story,” she promotes the party’s narrative while presenting the regime as credible and respectable — aligned with Jinping’s strategy for foreign influence. Based on comments below the podcast, podcast listeners were captivated by Keyu’s charm and didn’t bother to fact-check her. Still, one would anticipate that a person of Summers’ extensive knowledge, experience, and prestige would exercise greater caution than to become infatuated as if he were an enthralled teenager.

Epstein Files Need to Be Public

After his correspondence with Epstein came to light this week, Summers stated he is “deeply ashamed” and will reduce his public commitments. But he then opted to keep his teaching role at Harvard. Sen. Elizabeth Warren rightly emphasized, “If he [ Larry Summers] had so little ability to distance himself from Jeffrey Epstein even after all that was publicly known about Epstein’s sex offenses involving underage girls, then Summers cannot be trusted to advise our nation’s politicians, policymakers, and institutions — or teach a generation of students at Harvard or anywhere else.” Under public pressure, Harvard then announced that Summers would take a leave from his teaching position and his role as director of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School.

For a long time, many Americans, myself included, perceived the Epstein file as a partisan weapon, diverting focus from more critical issues such as China’s dominance over rare earth minerals. However, the new revelations about Summers have shifted this viewpoint. It is essential for the Epstein files to be made public so that we can identify which prominent figures were involved and assess whether they deserve our continuing trust in making important decisions or holding influential positions in our society.