Harvard negotiations are ongoing, close to being finalized, Secretary of Education McMahon says

 WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Negotiations between the Trump administration and Harvard University are close to being finalized, US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon told reporters at the White House on Thursday.

The administration has opened a number of investigations into the university to monitor its compliance with US President Donald Trump's directives, an effort critics say amounts to political persecution.

EPSTEIN PROBE

Earlier on Wednesday, Harvard University announced to open a probe into individuals mentioned in the Jeffrey Epstein files recently released by Congress.

A university spokesperson said the documents showed a close relationship between its former president, Larry Summers, and the late convicted sex offender.

"The University is conducting a review of information concerning individuals at Harvard included in the newly released Jeffrey Epstein documents to evaluate what actions may be warranted," Harvard spokesperson Jason Newton said in an email.

Newton did not mention Summers by name.

Harvard's review thrusts one of the world's most prestigious universities into the scandal surrounding Epstein's network of powerful associates and follows days of public pressure after the documents detailed Summers' extensive correspondence with the financier.

The Harvard Crimson, a newspaper run by Harvard students, first reported the news on Tuesday.

SUMMERS STEPS DOWN FROM OPENAI

Summers, a former president of Harvard, where he is now a professor, told the newspaper on Monday that he will step back from all public commitments, days after US President Donald Trump ordered the US Justice Department to investigate his and other prominent Democrats' ties to Epstein. Trump has said he had no connection to Epstein's crimes.

Summers, a former US Treasury secretary, also resigned from the OpenAI board, he said on Wednesday.

The House Oversight Committee released thousands of files related to Epstein last Wednesday, including documents that showed personal correspondence between Summers and Epstein.

The university investigation will look into all other Harvard affiliates mentioned in the documents released by the House, including Summers’ wife and nearly a dozen other Harvard affiliates, past and present, the Crimson said.

The probe will cover any new information revealed in the files, including hundreds of messages Summers and Epstein exchanged over women, politics, and Harvard-related initiatives, it said.

Reuters could not immediately verify all details of the Crimson report. Summers' office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Republican-controlled US Congress voted almost unanimously on Tuesday to force the release of Justice Department files on Epstein, an outcome Trump had fought for months before ending his opposition.

Many Trump voters believe his administration has covered up Epstein’s ties to powerful figures and obscured details surrounding his death, which was ruled a suicide, in a Manhattan jail in 2019.