Whistleblower: Trump administration campus antisemitism probes were political tools

A former US Justice Department lawyer has alleged in a whistleblower complaint filed with the inspectors general of the Justice and Health and Human Services departments that a Trump administration task force used investigations into campus antisemitism as a political tool. The complaint claims that probes into Ivy League universities were rushed, lacked legal evidence, and were designed to coerce these institutions into financial settlements through funding threats.

Haley Van Erem, a former attorney in the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division who worked on the task force, stated she left the department because she was unwilling to participate in investigations that lacked factual or legal support. The complaint specifically highlights investigations into Brown, Harvard, and Columbia universities.

Regarding Brown University, the whistleblower alleges that the investigative team found no evidence to support a violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, yet leadership insisted on pursuing a settlement despite acknowledging the absence of a legal basis. In the case of Columbia University, the complaint asserts that the investigation was conducted on an accelerated timeline without adequate review, resulting in a $200 million settlement.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, wrote to Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, characterizing the investigations as a "pre-baked frame-up operation" that was "thoroughly political in nature." He argued the project was designed to harass faculty, curtail academic freedom, and strip institutions of federal grants.

The Trump administration had maintained that its efforts were necessary to combat unchecked antisemitism. However, critics and federal judges have challenged these actions, with one judge previously ruling that the government used antisemitism as a "smokescreen" for ideologically motivated assaults on universities. Last week, a federal judge dismissed a separate Trump administration lawsuit against Harvard University.