Nine former DOJ attorneys investigating alleged antisemitism at the University of California have said the Trump administration pressured them to find civil rights violations against Jewish staff and students during the period in 2024 on campus when there were several non-violent protests against Israel’s actions in Gaza, including a student tent city.
The career lawyers said they were told early to be ready to sue within 30 days, before facts were known, and all nine ultimately resigned over ethical concerns.
The LA Times reported on Saturday, December 13, one attorney as saying the investigation was “unserious” and aimed at justifying a lawsuit rather than discovering what happened, the LA Times reported.
The probes followed pro-Gaza protests at UCLA, reports of perceived antisemitic bias, and a civil lawsuit that ended in a multimillion-dollar settlement. Put simply, the government’s actions were aimed at criminalising the anti-Israel protests.
Former lawyers said that lawsuit and Trump-supporting conservative media coverage formed much of the basis for the DOJ investigations. They said that UCLA may have come close to violating the law, but said any case had significant weaknesses.
Several attorneys said they were troubled by demands to draft justification memos in advance and by press releases implying guilt before findings.
DOJ leaders publicly declared UCLA in violation of civil rights laws, while university officials sought a quiet, out-of-court resolution to protect federal funding. The former attorneys said the investigations were politically driven, compromised DOJ integrity, and ultimately did not help address genuine antisemitism, and the government has not sued UC.
PHOTO: Eden Yu
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