A former Justice Department lawyer has filed a complaint alleging that the Trump administration’s investigations into anti-Semitism at major universities were predetermined and politically motivated rather than based on factual or legal grounds. The whistleblower, Haley Van Erem, who worked in the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division for nearly a decade, claims she was involuntarily assigned to assist with a task force and left her position in May 2025 after refusing to participate in what she characterized as investigations unsupported by facts and contrary to law.
The complaint, filed with inspectors general at multiple federal agencies, contends that the Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism pursued investigations into Ivy League universities to pressure them into multimillion-dollar settlements despite government inquiries that failed to establish legal violations. According to the disclosure, political appointees overruled career investigators, and the task force targeted certain professors based on religion and ethnicity. The complaint further alleges that the task force was marked by “extraordinary procedural irregularities” and predetermined outcomes lacking factual or legal support.
The Justice Department has denied the allegations, stating that Van Erem “did not work on university investigations” and asserting that the department “stands behind the integrity of these investigations.” The task force was established in February 2025 under then-Attorney General Pam Bondi through an executive order aimed at addressing what the administration characterized as widespread antisemitic harassment on college campuses.
Representative Jamie Raskin, ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, has initiated an investigation into the whistleblower allegations, characterizing the administration’s efforts as deliberately structured to “harass and intimidate” universities rather than protect against discrimination. Both Columbia University and Brown University reached settlements with the administration, with Columbia agreeing to pay $200m over three years and Brown committing $50m to workforce development, despite the task force finding no formal admission of misconduct from either institution.
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