Larry Summers takes leave of absence from Harvard in wake of Epstein emails

Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers is taking a leave of absence from Harvard University, where he is  a tenured professor, a spokesman for the former Cabinet secretary told the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday night.

The move comes as Summers faces heightened scrutiny after recently released emails revealed he continued his relationship with financier Jeffrey Epstein after he pleaded guilty in 2008 to state charges of solicitation of prostitution and of solicitation of prostitution with a minor. 

Summers resigned from his role on the board of OpenAI earlier Wednesday and announced earlier this week that he would step back from his public duties over the controversy.

The spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal that Summers is not slated to teach any courses next semester and that he will take an immediate leave from his position as director of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School.

“His co-teachers will complete the remaining three class sessions of the courses he has been teaching with them this semester,” the spokesperson said. 

The university also acknowledged to the publication that Summers had communicated his intentions with them.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.