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The dean at the Harvard Kennedy School has decided to withdraw an invitation to have Chelsea Manning serve as a visiting fellow — but still invited the convicted leaker to give a talk at the school.

Harvard Kennedy School Dean Douglas ElmendorfGetty ImagesHarvard Kennedy School Dean Douglas ElmendorfGetty Images

Douglas Elmendorf released a statement late Thursday claiming that it was a “mistake” to give Manning the designation.

“We are withdrawing the invitation to her to serve as a Visiting Fellow — and the perceived honor that it implies to some people — while maintaining the invitation for her to spend a day at the Kennedy School and speak in the Forum,” he wrote.

“I apologize to her and to the many concerned people from whom I have heard today for not recognizing upfront the full implications of our original invitation.”

The decision came hours after former CIA Acting Director Michael Morell announced his resignation as a senior fellow at the university due to its decision to honor Manning.

Manning, a former Army intelligence analyst, was convicted of leaking military intelligence records.

She spent seven years in prison before President Barack Obama commuted her sentence in January.

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