Whistleblower alleges political pressure, lack of evidence in antisemitism probes targeting schools
The complaint says federal officials pressed schools to settle before investigations were complete and suspended hundreds of millions of dollars in funding.
- On Tuesday, former Justice Department lawyer Haley Van Erem filed a whistleblower disclosure alleging a Trump administration task force pressured Ivy League universities into settlements despite rushed, predetermined investigations lacking evidentiary support.
- Launched by then-Attorney General Pam Bondi in February 2025, the multi-agency task force allegedly used "extraordinary funding freezes and sweeping proposed settlement terms" to extract payments as part of a "politically mandated effort."
- Investigators found no Title VI violations at Brown University, yet officials pushed for settlement anyway; Columbia University agreed to pay $200 million to restore funding, while Brown paid $50 million to Rhode Island organizations.
- Rep. Jamie Raskin of the House Judiciary Committee labeled the probe a "pre-baked frame-up operation" in a letter to Harmeet Dhillon, while a federal judge ordered the administration last year to reverse $2.6 billion in funding cuts to Harvard University.
- Van Erem resigned in May 2025, stating she was "unwilling to be made vulnerable to further participation in politically motivated investigations unsupported by facts and contrary to law," reflecting internal dissent over legal adherence.
43 Articles
43 Articles
Top Democrat opens investigation into alleged Trump misuse of antisemitism probe
The administration used the allegations to withhold or suspend billions of dollars in federal funding, prompting universities to negotiate settlements that included measures limiting campus speech, protests and activism related to Israel
Former DOJ lawyer alleges Trump administration abused investigative process to target Harvard, Brown and Columbia
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.
Whistleblower Says Ivy Probes Lacked Evidence
“The Trump administration task force charged with investigating antisemitism on Ivy League campuses pressured universities into punitive settlements despite turning up little to no evidence of systemic abuse, according to a whistleblower complaint made public Tuesday,” the Washington Post reports. “The complaint — filed by Haley Van Erem, a former career attorney in the Justice […]
DOJ Whistleblower Suggests Ivy League Antisemitism Probes Were Predetermined in 'Politically Mandated Effort'
“Money, Power, Politics” host Stephanie Ruhle and MS NOW Justice and Intelligence reporter Ken Dilanian slammed the Trump administration Tuesday for forcing “good civil servants” to do “things they find absolutely abhorrent,” in the wake of new whistleblower allegations surrounding the federal government’s antisemitism investigations into multiple Ivy League institutions last year. Per the AP, a former Department of Justice lawyer has alleged th…
Lid blown off Trump admin's college 'frame-up operation' by ex-DOJ attorney
A former Justice Department civil rights attorney says the Trump administration's antisemitism investigations into three Ivy League schools were rigged from the start — with settlements demanded before the evidence was even in.According to MS NOW, Haley Van Erem, who spent nearly a decade in the DOJ's Civil Rights Division before joining the antisemitism task force and departing in May 2025, told Congress the findings against Harvard, Brown and …
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