The New York Times is making allegations about the Justice Department “without evidence” a DOJ source said Wednesday.
A Times story published late on Tuesday claimed that the DOJ will work towards investigating admission policies against white students.
The story’s lead read: “The Trump administration is preparing to redirect resources of the Justice Department’s civil rights division toward investigating and suing universities over affirmative action admissions policies deemed to discriminate against white applicants, according to a document obtained by The New York Times.”
The Times story is based on an internal personnel announcement seeking attorneys to work on “investigations and possible litigation related to intentional race-based discrimination in college and university admissions.” The Times reporter wrote that the announcement does not mention any specific race, but infers that its phrasing is connected to “programs designed to bring more minority students to university campuses.”
A DOJ source with knowledge of the posting told TheDC, “The story appears to assume it deals with white students without evidence. ”
The source added: “This was a personnel posting; it does not reflect a new policy or program or any changes to longstanding DOJ policy. Whenever there’s a credible allegation of discrimination on the basis of race, the department will look into it.”
Intentional race-based discrimination on campus is not an issue that pertains to only one race. In 2015, 64 Asian-American groups came together to file a federal complaint against Harvard University and other Ivy League schools, saying that high-scoring Asian students are being passed over due to race-based quotas. A similar complaint was filed in 2016 by 132 Asian-American groups.
Update: Department of Justice spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores put out a statement at 6:05 pm EST confirming TheDC’s story. The statement is below.
“Press reports regarding the personnel posting in the Civil Rights Division have been 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. 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.”
