trump-team-s-letter-to-harvard-sent-by-mistake-report

A senior official in the Donald Trump administration has claimed that a controversial letter dispatched to Harvard University last week was issued in error and without proper authorisation, reports from the US media maintained on Saturday.

 

Dated April 11 and attributed to the White House’s task force on antisemitism, the letter laid out what Harvard officials described as a series of “highly intrusive” directives. These included recommendations for changes to the university’s hiring protocols, student admissions process, and academic curriculum.

 

Harvard, perceiving the communication as unprecedented interference, publicly declared on 14 April its intention to challenge the administration’s position.

 

Shortly after this announcement, a Trump official contacted Harvard and informed the university that the letter had been sent inadvertently. The official described the correspondence as “unauthorised,” according to two individuals familiar with the exchange, cited by The New York Times.

 

Three additional sources briefed on the matter indicated that the letter had been sent by Sean Keveney, acting general counsel at the Department of Health and Human Services and a member of the antisemitism task force. While the contents of the letter were deemed genuine, internal confusion reportedly existed over whether it was ever intended to be sent to Harvard.

 

Some within the White House believed the document had been issued prematurely. Others maintained it was meant solely for internal distribution among task force members. All sources requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of internal deliberations.

 

The incident took place against a backdrop of ongoing discussions between Harvard and the antisemitism task force. The university had reportedly been engaged in what it regarded as constructive dialogue over the course of two weeks. However, the tone and severity of the letter’s demands altered the dynamic significantly.

 

Believing that reconciliation with the administration was no longer possible, Harvard decided to publicly oppose the White House’s stance.

 

The New York Times remarked that the exchange had sparked “a tectonic battle between one of the country’s most prestigious universities and a US President.”

 

The Trump administration has not issued any formal clarification regarding the miscommunication at the time of writing.