President Trump continues to ramp up his ongoing battle with Harvard University. His administration has attempted to block the university from enrolling international students, imposed a federal funding freeze, and has repeatedly threatened Harvard’s tax-exempt status. These actions have been viewed as politically motivated and as an attempt to force the Ivy League institution to abandon its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice launched its Civil Rights Fraud Initiative in an attempt to enforce the federal False Claims Act(FCA), which could be used against Harvard or other higher education institutions.
John P. Relman is the founding partner of Relman Colfax, a civil rights law firm, and Zoila Hinson is a partner at Relman Colfax and co-authored an explainer on the False Claims Act joined All Things Considered host Arun Rath to explain the False Claims Act and how it could be used against Harvard and other higher education institutions.
What follows is a lightly edited transcript of their conversation:
Arun Rath: John, give us some background on why this administration continues to take aim at Harvard specifically?
John Relman: The attack on Harvard is part of a broader campaign against universities that the administration perceives as too woke, too liberal. It began with Columbia, and then it turned to Harvard. The claims that the administration is making are that Harvard has not done enough to stop...
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