<h1>Former treasury secretary and ex-university president to step back after emails reveal continued friendly contact with convicted financier</h1> A former US treasury secretary and ex-university president said he will step back from public commitments after release of emails showing continued friendly communications with a convicted financier years after the financier's guilty plea for soliciting an underage prostitute. He apologized, called the contacts a major error in judgment, and has relinquished or ended several fellowships and advisory roles at a progressive think tank and a university lab; his status with a nonprofit AI board is unclear. The announcement followed calls from the president to investigate and a directive for a federal probe; a senator urged his university to sever ties.