Whistleblowers say the Justice and Health and Human Services Departments’ antisemitism investigations at Brown, Columbia and Harvard Universities last year were politically motivated probes that were predetermined and legally spurious.
The Trump administration cut off hundreds of millions of dollars in research funding for those institutions, citing antisemitism allegations. Columbia settled with the Trump administration, agreeing to pay $221 million and give up significant autonomy, while Brown promised to put $50 million into Rhode Island workforce development efforts. Harvard sued the administration and has won in court, though it’s also made multiple changes on campus to address antisemitism allegations.
The Government Accountability Project sent a “protected whistleblower disclosure" letter on Monday to the U.S. special counsel, Justice and HHS inspectors general, and members of Congress on behalf of Haley Van Erem and other unnamed career Justice attorneys. The letter says these attorneys were temporarily assigned to the HHS Office for Civil Rights in March 2025 to work on Title VI investigations by the Trump administration’s Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism.
Van Erem alleges she was abruptly removed from working on “five cases involving the Americans With Disabilities Act, including serving as lead counsel on active settlement enforcement in an ADA matter concerning services for children with mental health conditions.” Attorneys say they were given...
Jang, in his 40s, who also runs a beauty salon and works as an insurance planner, registered himself as a caregiver for insured A, an insurance customer, in April. Afterwards, Jang filed a documen...