The Department of Justice is investigating Harvard University’s affirmative action policies, and says the school is failing to cooperate with the probe, according to documents obtained by the Washington Examiner.
In a letter to Harvard’s lawyer dated Nov. 17, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division wrote that the university is “not complying” with its requirements for Title VI access.
Title VI was adopted as part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and is designed to prevent racial discrimination in places that receive federal funds.
In the same letter, Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore wrote that Harvard has responded to informal attempts to get certain documents “with delays and challenges to the department’s authority.”
Harvard’s representatives met with Justice Department officials in September, and the university “has not yet produced a single document” following the government’s formal document request on Oct. 19, which had a Nov. 2 deadline.
Gore letter gave Harvard until Dec. 1 to comply with the department’s Oct. 19 document request, and warned that otherwise, a lawsuit could be filed.
In another letter sent to Harvard’s lawyer on Nov. 17, an attorney for the Justice Department’s Civil Right’s Division charged that Harvard has “pursued a strategy of delay and has not yet produced even a single document.”
Thus, the department “is left with no choice but to conclude that Harvard is out of compliance with its Title VI access obligations.”
The Justice Department attorney, Matthew Donnelly, offered to travel to the lawyer’s law firm or Cambridge, Mass., to copy and download all requested documents and information.
“The Department of Justice takes seriously any potential violation of an individual’s civil and constitutional rights, but we will not comment at this time,” Justice Department spokesperson Devin O’Malley told the Washington Examiner in a statement.
Seth Waxman, a partner at Washington law firm WilmerHale and the Solicitor General from 1997 to 2001, confirmed to the Washington Examiner in an email that he represents Harvard, but declined to comment.
In a statement, Harvard said it has “repeatedly made clear” to the Justice Department it will “certainly comply with its obligations under Title VI.”
“In the process, we have an obligation to protect the confidentiality of student and applicant files and other highly sensitive records, and we have been seeking to engage the Department of Justice in the best means of doing so,” the statement said.
In one letter obtained by the Washington Examiner, sent to Gore on Oct. 6, Waxman wrote that Harvard is “well aware” of its obligations under Title VI.
The Justice Department answered Waxman on Oct. 19 with its document request, and Waxman again sent a letter to the department on Nov. 7 saying he had more questions.
In the Nov. 7 letter, Waxman wrote that Harvard will provide documents first requested on Oct. 19, and that they are available at WilmerHale’s Washington office.
“We believe the approach outlined above should be more than sufficient to fulfill the objectives you have identified. […] We are happy to discuss our proposal, and your responses to the questions set forth above, at your convenience,” Waxman wrote.
The New York Times first reported in August the Justice Department was looking for lawyers to work on “possible litigation related to intentional race-based discrimination in college and university admissions.”
“The posting sought volunteers to investigate one administrative complaint filed by a coalition of 64 Asian-American associations in May 2015 that the prior administration left unresolved,” Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said in a statement at the time.
“The complaint alleges racial discrimination against Asian-Americans in a university’s admissions policy and practices. This Department of Justice has not received or issued any directive, memorandum, initiative, or policy related to university admissions in general. The Department of Justice is committed to protecting all Americans from all forms of illegal race-based discrimination.”
