Politics

DOJ Tags New York Times For Inaccurate Affirmative Action Report

REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein

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Kevin Daley Supreme Court correspondent
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The Department of Justice (DOJ) is disputing the accuracy of a New York Times report which claims the department is preparing a concerted campaign against campus affirmative action policies in order to protect white students.

The New York Times reported late Tuesday that the Justice Department’s civil rights division, a department unit which enforces federal anti-discrimination laws, was preparing to investigate race-conscious admissions policies in higher education. The report claims that the purpose of the effort is to identify and litigate against policies which disadvantage white applicants.

DOJ spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores disputed the Times’ reporting Wednesday, characterizing the report as “inaccurate.”

“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,” Flores said in a statement. “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,” she added.

The complaint Flores refers to concerns litigation between Asian American groups and Harvard University.

The Daily Caller reported Wednesday that other Justice Department sources disputed the accuracy of the Times report.

“The story appears to assume it deals with white students without evidence,” a DOJ source told The Daily Caller’s Alex Pfeiffer.

“This was a personnel posting; it does not reflect a new policy or program or any changes to longstanding DOJ policy,” the source added.

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