Assistant A.G.: Columbia Is Misleading on Its Plans to Fix Problems

On Monday’s broadcast of Newsmax TV’s “Greg Kelly Reports,” Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Harmeet Dhillon stated that Columbia University has tried to say that it’s working to fix problems at the school, but they’re being dishonest because they gave an honor to a professor who has supported BDS and so this is “a wink, wink, nudge, nudge that we’re going to be doing things a little differently. We want to take the federal money, but we don’t want to follow the federal law.”

While discussing findings that Harvard violated federal law, Dhillon stated that “what they’re saying in response to this is, oh, yeah, yes, there were some problems in the past, but we’re taking steps to remediate them. And I’ve heard that from Columbia. I’ve heard that from Cornell. I’ve heard that from other schools.”

She continued, “Just today, Columbia, which is in — had been reported to be in discussions with the United States on these issues, has come out and nominated and appointed one of its BDS professors as one of the university professors, a very exalted position at Columbia. And so, even in the face of potential loss of federal funding and ongoing assurances to the United States that they’re doing the right thing, they’re actually, really sending a signal, a wink, wink, nudge, nudge that we’re going to be doing things a little differently. We want to take the federal money, but we don’t want to follow the federal law. That’s not going to work for the United States.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett