US President Donald Trump's administration said it has launched an investigation into Harvard University and Harvard Law Review for "race-based discrimination" after receiving reports about the prestigious legal journal's selection process for articles.
The probe comes as Trump cracks down on US universities on several fronts, alleging widespread anti-Semitism, anti-white bias, and the promotion of "gender ideology" by protecting transgender students.
Harvard, which has seen billions in federal funding frozen after it rejected wide-ranging government oversight, filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration last week.
On Monday, the civil rights offices of the Department of Education and Department of Health and Human Services announced that it had received information about Harvard Law Review's "policies and practices for journal membership and article selection that may violate" the Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.
Title VI bans recipients of federal funds -- such as Harvard -- "from discriminating on the basis of race, color, or national origin in the recipient's programs or activities," the agencies said in a joint statement.
"Harvard Law Review's article selection process appears to pick winners and losers on the basis of race," said Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights in the education department.
He added that the Trump administration "will not allow Harvard... to trample on anyone's civil rights."
Founded in 1887, Harvard Law Review is a student-run journal that publishes articles by legal scholars and practitioners. It counts former US president Barack Obama -- appointed in 1990 as the first Black head -- as among its leaders.
A spokesperson with Harvard Law School said in a statement to AFP that it was "committed to ensuring that the programs and activities it oversees are in compliance with all applicable laws and to investigating any credibly alleged violations."
He also said Harvard Law Review is "legally independent from the law school," adding that a 2018 claim of a similar nature "was dismissed."
With AFP
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