Former DOJ lawyer alleges government improperly targeted Ivy League schools
The Trump administration pressured attorneys to investigate allegations of antisemitism at elite universities even though there was no factual or legal basis to do so, according to a former DOJ lawyer.
Former Justice Department lawyer Haley Van Erem has accused the Trump administration of pressuring its civil rights attorneys to investigate antisemitism allegations at Harvard, Columbia, and Brown universities, despite lacking factual or legal grounds for such investigations. Van Erem, who worked in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) while at the DOJ, claimed that political leadership at HHS and DOJ instructed staff to produce adverse findings against the three institutions as part of a whistleblower complaint.
The complaints emerged just days after a federal judge dismissed the DOJ's lawsuit against Harvard, citing insufficient evidence of discrimination. According to Van Erem and her legal team, the Justice Department's inquiry suffered from rushed timelines, inadequate factual support, and disregard for legal concerns. The complaint also alleges that investigators relied on unsupported allegations, news reports, and First Amendment-protected activities.
HHS and DOJ officials have denied the allegations, emphasizing the integrity of their investigations. The whistleblower complaint has sparked controversy, with Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Democratic member of the House Judiciary Committee, demanding communication records related to the investigations.
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