House demands mountain of documents from Harvard in antisemitism investigation

Lawmakers investigating Harvard University’s response to antisemitism are demanding the Ivy League school turn over a treasure trove of documents in two weeks.

Lawmakers investigating Harvard University’s response to antisemitism are demanding the Ivy League school turn over a treasure trove of documents in two weeks. In a letter on Tuesday to Harvard leaders, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce for the first time detailed the mountain of documents lawmakers are seeking to aid the probe launched last month. The Wall Street Journal first reported the letter. The wide-ranging request lists 24 separate categories of documents it wants Harvard to produce, including all reports of antisemitic incidents and related reports since January 1, 2021; documents on how the university responds to such incidents; settlements by Harvard in response to discrimination, harassment or free speech violations since January 1, 2018; communications linked to Harvard’s response to the October anti-Israel student organization letter; and all meeting minutes for Harvard’s top two boards since early 2021. The nine-page letter also asks Harvard to provide documents on how much in foreign donations and funding the university receives; a list of all foreign donations above $50,000 since early 2021; and all donations from Qatari sources since early 2021. Lawmakers also want Harvard to provide information on the “size, budget, agenda and performance metrics” of the university’s Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging. The House Education Committee set a deadline of 5 pm ET on January 23 for the documents and said the request extends to “any informal communications” including text or other electronic messages.