The Trump administration’s antisemitism investigations into Ivy League universities were rushed and had “predetermined” outcomes meant to force the institutions into paying out settlements, a former Justice Department lawyer alleges in a new whistleblower complaint.
The claims were brought forth by Haley Van Erem, a former DOJ attorney assigned to work on the investigations through the Department of Health and Human Services, and other career civil rights attorneys whose names were redacted in the public version of the complaint, released by House Judiciary Democrats. The group describes an “outcome‑driven approach” taken by a multiagency task force that was “subordinate to political priorities,” alleging that those who brought forward disagreements were sidelined or faced reprimands.
The White House created a sweeping task force last year to “root out antisemitic harassment” in response to pro-Palestinian student groups protesting Israel’s actions in Gaza following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks. Under President Donald Trump’s administration, officials investigated dozens of the country’s top schools — including Harvard University, Brown University and Columbia University, which are at the center of Tuesday’s whistleblower report — and canceled hundreds of millions in grant money by claiming the institutions were violating Jewish and Israeli students’ Title VI rights. Those fights over federal dollars eventually led to settlements and ongoing litigation.