Judge Dismisses Trump Administration Lawsuit Seeking Harvard Admissions Data
Photo: The New RepublicA federal judge in Boston on Monday dismissed the Trump administration's lawsuit seeking Harvard University's admissions data. U.S. District Judge Myong J. Joun ruled that the Justice Department had not followed all legally required steps to obtain a court order compelling compliance. Joun wrote that the ruling does not decide whether Harvard has discriminated, whether agencies may lawfully seek appropriately defined applicant-level data, or whether Harvard may ultimately have to provide it. The administration had alleged that Harvard was not cooperating with a review of its admissions policies, slow-walked production of documents and refused to hand over others, including application essays. Harvard called the demands excessive, described the suit as part of an ongoing campaign against it, and said its admissions process complies with federal law. Earlier this year Trump demanded $1 billion from Harvard after it refused to sign his education compact. A separate suit alleging a hostile environment for Jewish and Israeli students was thrown out in August.
The coverage does not center on one event. The New Republic, the left-leaning outlet, leads with the dismissal. Its headline calls the lawsuit extreme and says Harvard won, and it describes the effort as a shakedown. It quotes Joun's caveat and Harvard's statement, and adds the $1 billion demand and the August dismissal as background. The right-leaning Washington Free Beacon does not address the ruling in the text provided. It reports that employees of the New York Times, the Federal Reserve, Harvard and Columbia gave campaign money to Democratic candidates, some described as far-left. It cites a $1,000 gift from Times reporter Harry Stevens to candidate Beth Macy, the Times ethics policy, and Trump's Election Day remark about the Fed. Harvard appears only as an employer. Truthout, the alternative outlet, covers a separate case: a judge denied xAI's motion to dismiss an NAACP Clean Air Act suit over a Mississippi data center.
How the sides differ Left sources cover the Harvard ruling; right sources report on campaign donations by employees of elite institutions; alternative sources cover an unrelated xAI data center lawsuit.
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The New Republic leads with the dismissal of the administration's suit, quoting Judge Joun's caution about what the ruling leaves open and Harvard's statement, and frames the case as part of a pressure campaign on Harvard.
Truthout covers a different case, reporting that a federal judge denied xAI's motion to dismiss an NAACP lawsuit alleging its Mississippi data center violates the Clean Air Act.
The Washington Free Beacon reports on campaign donations to Democratic candidates by employees of the New York Times, the Federal Reserve, Harvard and Columbia, citing a Times reporter's $1,000 gift and Trump's comment on the Fed.