Whistleblower alleges political pressure, lack of evidence in antisemitism investigations targeting universities

Alanna Durkin Richer, Associated Press Alanna Durkin Richer, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Trump administration task force created to combat antisemitism pushed for settlements with Ivy League universities despite government investigations that were rushed and incomplete or that failed to establish legal violations by the schools, a former Justice Department lawyer alleged in a whistleblower disclosure obtained by The Associated Press.

The complaint alleges that the investigations into some of the nation's most prestigious academic institutions were designed to strong-arm the schools into cutting deals for political purposes. Outcomes of the investigations were "predetermined, without regard to the evidence" in a "politically mandated effort" to extract money from schools through settlement demands and funding freezes under the pretext of rooting out antisemitism, the complaint alleges.

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The work of the multi-agency task force, launched by the Justice Department under then-Attorney General Pam Bondi in February 2025, was "marked by extraordinary procedural irregularities, predetermined outcomes without factual or legal support" and disregard for the law and Constitution, lawyers for the former government attorney wrote in seeking watchdog investigations into their client's complaints.

The complaint taps into a broader public discussion about the administration's efforts to confront allegations of antisemitism at colleges, a problem that received renewed attention during campus protests over Israel's war in Gaza that some Jewish students said made them feel unsafe.