Will Harvard Continue to Lead the Charge? - Part 15

From the NY Times: The Justice Department quietly approached Harvard University last month with startling claims, even by the extraordinary standards of the Trump administration’s monthslong assault on the elite college. The department signaled that it was reviewing claims of discrimination against white men at The Harvard Law Review, and accused the renowned publication of destroying evidence in an open investigation. The administration demanded that Harvard “cease and desist” from interfering. In a series of letters that have not been previously reported, the government also disclosed that it had a “cooperating witness” inside the student-run journal. That witness now works in the White House under Stephen Miller, the architect of the administration’s domestic policy agenda, Trump officials confirmed.

The Law Review is independent of Harvard University. The allegations nonetheless deepened fears among Harvard officials that the administration appeared eager to escalate one of its civil investigations into a criminal inquiry, underscoring how the university’s problems with President Trump extend far beyond the loss of billions in federal funding.

...The investigation of The Harvard Law Review offers a glimpse into the strategy. The Justice Department’s not-so-subtle threats helped persuade The Law Review to agree to at least some of the government’s demands, which were delivered in three letters within 10 days in May... The witness, Daniel Wasserman, was identified as a government cooperator in two of the letters to Harvard University from the Justice Department last month, when he was still an editor at The Harvard Law Review. And other staff members of The Law Review have also known of his identity... Legal experts said it was highly unusual for an administration to give a cooperating witness in an ongoing investigation a White House job.

Inside the administration, some officials said the Justice Department might have additional evidence beyond what it had disclosed in its letters. Two administration officials familiar with the investigation said the department had been pursuing an allegation that law school students applying for editorial jobs at The Law Review were told directly of racial and gender hiring preferences...

Jonathan Swain, a spokesman for Harvard, said the university was committed to following the law, and emphasized that the school and The Law Review were two separate entities. “Harvard Law School and Harvard University do not control or operate The Harvard Law Review, including in its membership or article selection decisions,” Mr. Swain said in an emailed statement. The Law Review declined to comment...

Full story at https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/02/us/politics/harvard-law-review-investigation-trump.html.