Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers abruptly went on leave Wednesday from teaching at Harvard University, where he once served as president, a spokesman said, following last week's release of emails between him and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein .

Summers had been retreating from his public commitments amid the fallout of the emails, but he had maintained that he would continue teaching economics classes at Harvard.

"Mr. 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. His co-teachers will complete the remaining three class sessions of the courses he has been teaching with them this semester, and he is not scheduled to teach next semester," Summers spokesman Steven Goldber

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