Fmr. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers Steps Back from Harvard as the School Investigates His Epstein Ties | Crime Alert 1PM 11.20.25

Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers steps away from teaching at Harvard as new files reveal years of messages exchanged with Jeffrey Epstein and prompt a deep review at the University. A former congressional staffer in New Jersey is charged with staging a violent attack against herself in what investigators now call an elaborate hoax blamed on Trump opponents. Drew Nelson reports.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Crime Alert hourly update breaking crime news Now. I'm Drew Nelson.
Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers is stepping away from teaching
at Harvard as new files reveal years of messages exchange
with Jeffrey Epstein, prompting a deep review by the university.
The school says he will leave his role as an
instructor while the review moves forward. He will also go
on leave from the mass of a Romani Center, which

(00:22):
is Harvard's School of Business and Government. A spokesperson telling
the Harvard Crimson quote, mister Summers has decided it's in
the best interest of the center for him to go
on leave from his role as director as Harvard undertakes
its review. This shift comes just one day after Summer's
open with an apology, but went on teaching what would
be his final class. A student posted a video some.

Speaker 2 (00:43):
Of you will have seen my statement to regret stressing
my shame with respect to what I did communication with
missus Revstein, and I've said that I'm going to stop
that from public as part time like that to disturb
important for filmassaching obligations, and so with your incormision, I'm

(01:07):
we're going to go forward and talk about the material
I had in clash.

Speaker 1 (01:13):
Harvard says the review we'll focus on the new documents
released by the House Oversight Committee. Summers also resigned from
the board of Open AI, the makers of chat GPT,
stating quote, 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 mister Epstein.
The new files show years of messages between Somers and Epstein.

(01:36):
Referring to an unnamed woman, The Crimson reported, Summers wrote, quote,
she must be very confused or maybe wants to cut
me off, but wants professional connection a lot, and so
holds on to it. In another exchange, he wrote, quote
hit on a few women ten years ago, and you
can't work at a network or think tank. Epstein replied
to Summers in several notes. In one he said quote
no whining showed strength. In another, he said the woman

(01:59):
was quote making you pay for past errors. He also
called himself Summers wingman. Leaders across the country have weighed in,
with Senator Elizabeth Warren telling the Boston Globe quote, Larry
Summers has demonstrated that he cannot be trusted period that
includes no trust for the advice he gives or for
teaching students anywhere. Summers time at Harvard spans decades, with

(02:20):
him serving as president from two thousand and one until
two thousand and six. He has been a university professor
since twenty eleven. He served as Treasury secretary under President
Bill Clinton. The file showed that Summers and Epstein stayed
in touch until July fifth of twenty nineteen, one day
before Epstein was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges tied
to girls as young as fourteen. Epstein died one month later.

(02:43):
More Crime Man Justice News. After this, a former congressional
staffer in New Jerseys charge was staging a violent attack
against herself and what investigators now called an elaborate hoax
blamed on Trump opponents. Federal prosecutors say the case move
forward this week, when twenty six year old Natalie Green

(03:06):
made her first appearance in federal court on charges of
conspiracy to convey false statements and making false statements to
law enforcement. She was released on a two hundred thousand
dollars unsecured bond. The charge of stem from an incident
in July at a nature preserve in Egg Harbor Township.
A female co conspirator called nine to one one late
that night, reporting that quote three guys just attacked us.

(03:27):
Green was found in the woods with her hands and
feet zip tied. Her shirt was pulled over her head.
She was crying and yelling. One of the attackers quote
has a gun. Officers observed deep cuts across her face, neck,
upper chest, and shoulder. They also saw the words Trump
whore written on her stomach and the message blank is
racist written on her back. The name in the blank

(03:48):
is referred to in the documents as Federal Official one.
Green told officers she was held down and cut. She
said the men threatened to shoot her. She also said
they referenced to work for Federal Official One. Representative Jeff
Van Drew's office confirmed that Green had worked there. A
statement from Van Drew's office reads quote, we are deeply
saddened by today's news, and while Natalie is no longer

(04:09):
associated with the Congressman's government office, our thoughts and prayers
are with her. We hope she is getting the care
she needs. Investigators later uncovered evidence showing the attack it
did not happen. They found zip ties, and duct tape
in Green's car similar to the ones used on her.
They also found the co conspirator's phone had been used
two days earlier to search Google for quote zip ties

(04:30):
near me. The investigation revealed that Green paid a body
modification artist five hundred dollars to make the wounds in
her face, neck, chest, back, and shoulders. Court documents say
officers recovered a drawing with a proposed pattern for the scarring.
The Justice Department wrote that the lacerations quote had been
deliberately cut according to that design. Green worked for Van

(04:50):
Drew beginning in twenty twenty two as a Rutger's law student.
If convicted on both federal accounts, she faces up to
ten years in prison. For the latest crime and justice news,
follow Crimeler's hourly update on your favorite podcast app with
this crime alerg I'm Drew Nelson.