Trump admin claims Columbia violated Jewish students' rights, threatens school's accreditation
The Trump administration said Wednesday that it has notified the accreditor for Columbia University that the school violated Title VI, threatening the university's accreditation status by saying it "no longer appears to meet the Commissions accreditation standards."
The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights (HHS OCR) "determined that Columbia University acted with deliberate indifference towards the harassment of Jewish students, thereby violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964," according to press release from the Education Department.
The release says the school has been in violation since the war in the Middle East began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas invaded Israel, killing more than 1,200 people and taking hundreds more hostage. Israel's ensuing retaliation on the Gaza Strip has claimed more than 54,000 lives.
The government release Wednesday states that the school is now in violation of the standards set by Middle States Commission on Higher Education, Columbia's accreditor, which states that "a candidate or accredited institution possesses or demonstrates ... compliance with all applicable government laws and regulations."
"In light of OCR's determination, Columbia University no longer appears to meet the Commission's accreditation standards," the Department of Education said.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in the release that Columbia has "acted with deliberate indifference towards the harassment of Jewish students on its campus" since Oct. 7, 2023, calling the school's actions "immoral" and "unlawful."
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NBC News
17 minutes ago
- NBC News
U.S. hits International Criminal Court judges with sanctions over investigation into Israel
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is slapping sanctions on four judges at the International Criminal Court over the tribunal's investigation into alleged war crimes by Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza and in the West Bank. The State Department said Thursday that it would freeze any assets that the ICC judges, who come from Benin, Peru, Slovenia and Uganda, have in U.S. jurisdictions. The move is just the latest step that the administration has taken to punish the ICC and its officials for investigations undertaken against Israel and the United States. 'As ICC judges, these four individuals have actively engaged in the ICC's illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America or our close ally, Israel,' Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement. 'The ICC is politicized and falsely claims unfettered discretion to investigate, charge, and prosecute nationals of the United States and our allies,' Rubio said. 'This dangerous assertion and abuse of power infringes upon the sovereignty and national security of the United States and our allies, including Israel.' In February, The Hague-based court's chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, was placed on Washington's list of 'Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons,' barring him from doing business with Americans and placing restrictions on his entry into the U.S. Khan stepped aside last month pending an investigation into alleged sexual misconduct. Within minutes of the administration's announcement, the court condemned its actions. 'These measures are a clear attempt to undermine the independence of an international judicial institution,' ICC spokesperson Fadi El Abdallah said in a statement. The new sanctions target ICC Judge Reine Alapini-Gansou, who is from the West African country of Benin and was part of the pre-trial chamber of judges who issued the arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last year. She also served on the bench that originally greenlit the investigation into alleged Israeli crimes in the Palestinian territories in 2021. The 69-year-old was also part of the panel of judges who issued the arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2023. Last year, a court in Moscow issued a warrant for her arrest. From Slovenia, Beti Hohler was elected as a judge in 2023. She previously worked in the prosecutor's office at the court, leading Israel to object to her participation in the proceedings involving Israeli officials. Hohler said in a statement last year that she had never worked on the Palestinian territories investigation during her eight years as a prosecutor. Bouth Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza, from Peru, and Solomy Balungi Bossa, from Uganda, are appeals judges at the ICC. Each woman has worked on cases involving Israel. Neither the U.S. nor Israel is a member of and neither recognizes the legitimacy of the court, which has issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu for alleged war crimes over his military response in Gaza after the Hamas attack against Israel in October 2023. Israel strongly denies the allegations. During his first term in office, Trump targeted the ICC with sanctions, voicing displeasure with investigations into Israel and complaints about alleged war crimes said to have been committed by U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Those sanctions were rescinded by President Joe Biden 's administration in early 2021. Rubio said the U.S. would continue to take action to protect its and Israel's interests at the court. 'The United States will take whatever actions we deem necessary to protect our sovereignty, that of Israel, and any other U.S. ally from illegitimate actions by the ICC,' he said. Liz Evenson, international justice director at Human Rights Watch, said the Trump administration's sanctions 'aim to deter the ICC from seeking accountability amid grave crimes committed in Israel and Palestine, and as Israeli atrocities mount in Gaza, including with U.S. complicity.' 'U.S. sanctions on ICC judges are a flagrant attack on the rule of law at the same time as President Trump is working to undercut it at home,' Evenson said in a statement. 'Sanctions are meant to put a stop to human rights violations, not to punish those seeking justice for the worst crimes.'
Daily Mail
28 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Blow by blow, how Elon Musk tore apart friendship with Trump with one bombshell post after another on X, from endorsing his impeachment to wild claims about Jeffrey Epstein
The public feud that unfolded last night between Donald Trump and Elon Musk closely resembles a dispute between two children in the playground. For the first term, they were inseparable. Donald invited Elon to play in his castle with all his classmates, and together they ruled the yard. But after a while, Donald decided he didn't want Elon to stay. Last week, he asked him to leave the castle and hang out with other people for a while. Elon sulked all weekend. When he came back, he told the whole school how stupid Donald and his friends were. He also claimed the only reason Donald got into the castle instead of that older kid in the first place was because of him. Before long, they were both yelling nasty insults and accusing one another of being naughty. Elon agreed with one pupil who said Donald should be kicked out of his castle. Unfortunately, the two participants in this argument are grown men. One is the leader of the free world, and the other is the world's richest man. They wrote their insults on separate social media platforms that they own. And one of the statements made amid the war of words alleged that the President of the United States was covering up his links to a convicted paedophile and sex offender. Here's a blow-by-blow account of how the bromance between two titans of American politics and popular culture unfolded. One of the accusations made amid the war of words alleged that the President of the United States was covering up his links to a convicted paedophile and sex offender The Trump-Musk relationship at its height was unprecedented in Washington - a sitting president granting a billionaire tech CEO access and influence inside the White House and throughout his government. Musk spent nearly $300 million backing Trump's presidential campaign and other Republicans last year, and was made a special adviser once Trump returned to the Oval Office. For months, the tech mogul used social media platform X to amplify Trump's messages while attacking the bureaucracy and federal spending through his self-styled Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Now, not only has the tech giant left the Trump White House - he became its harshest and perhaps most consequential critic overnight The public feud was seemingly initiated by Musk just days after he departed DOGE, with the X CEO taking aim at the GOP's 'One Big, Beautiful Bill' - a tax and spend bill tabled by the Republicans that will also increase the government's debt ceiling. The controversial bill was passed by the House of Representatives last month and is now being scrutinised in the Senate. On Tuesday, Musk posted on his social media platform that the bill was an 'abomination' and went on to urge Senators to 'kill the bill' on Wednesday. 'This spending bill contains the largest increase in the debt ceiling in US history! It is the Debt Slavery Bill,' he wrote. 'Call your Senator, Call your Congressman, Bankrupting America is NOT ok! KILL the BILL.' Musk also declared that the planned additional spending and the debt ceiling hike included in the bill 'more than defeats all the cost savings achieved by the DOGE team '. The blatant attack on the bill raised eyebrows given Musk's deep connections with the Republican party and personal friendship with Trump. Yet, when the US President met privately with White House officials on Wednesday, there was little to suggest that a public spat was in the offing with Musk, whose financial backing and support on social media were instrumental in sealing his second term in the Oval Office. Two White House officials familiar with the matter told a Reuters reporter that Trump expressed confusion and frustration in the meeting about Musk's attacks on his sweeping tax and spending bill. But he held back, the officials said, because he wanted to preserve Musk's political and financial support ahead of the midterm elections. By Thursday afternoon, however, Trump's mood had shifted. He told his team it was time to take the gloves off - and so began a public squabble that caught the world's attention. Trump took to Truth Social to hit back at Musk following criticism of the One Big Beautiful Bill Sitting next to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office, Trump told reporters he was 'very disappointed' in his former adviser's criticism of the bill. 'I'm very disappointed with Elon. I've helped him a lot. He knew the inner workings of the bill better than anybody sitting here. He had no problem with it,' he said. 'All of a sudden he had a problem & he only developed the problem when he found out we're going to cut EV mandate,' Trump claimed, in reference to a phasing out of tax credits for purchases of electric vehicles. Musk quickly hit back on social media. 'False, this bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it!' he said. Trump went on to say during his meeting with Merz: 'Musk hasn't said bad about me personally, but I´m sure that will be next.' He was quickly proven right. Musk vented his anger directly at Trump, saying his tariffs 'will cause a recession in the second half of this year' and accusing him of lying. He also said it was 'very unfair' that the legislation would eliminate tax incentives for electric vehicles. The back-and-forth devolved from there. Trump posted again on Truth Social, writing: 'Elon was 'wearing thin', I asked him to leave, I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy Electric Cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY!' Musk immediately retorted on X: 'Such an obvious lie. So sad.' Within minutes, he went on to say that it might be time to create a new political party and shared a poll to his followers asking for their opinion. With each post, the spat became yet more virulent - until Musk dropped a new allegation which could one day prove to be the catalyst leading to the downfall of one - if not both - participants. 'Time to drop the really big bomb: (Donald Trump) is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT! 'Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out!' Trump's commitment to greater transparency in the run up to November's election had many Americans hoping that he would shed light on the deplorable activities of sex offender and disgraced financier Epstein - and the litany of rich and famous figures thought to have been involved with him. Epstein died by suicide in 2019 in a Manhattan jail - though there is widespread speculation he may have been murdered. Before he was elected, Trump said he would have 'no problem' releasing files related to Epstein, but almost six months into his presidency, no more information has been revealed. Following the wild allegation, Musk endorsed a post on X from Ian Miles Cheong, a right-wing activist and prominent supporter of the tech mogul, calling for Trump's impeachment. Musk endorsed a post on X from Ian Miles Cheong, a right-wing activist and prominent supporter of the tech mogul, calling for Trump's impeachment. Trump retorted on Truth Social by threatening to cut off Elon's companies from various lucrative government contracts. 'The easiest way to save money in our budget, billions and billions of dollars, is to terminate Elon's government subsidies and contracts,' Trump posted. Musk promptly fired back, with the SpaceX chief saying he would begin 'decommissioning' his company's Dragon spacecraft in response. The spacecraft is vital for ferrying NASA astronauts to and from the International Space Station. By Friday morning, it appeared the spat was over. In a statement, the White House played down the war of words, calling it an 'unfortunate episode from Elon, who is unhappy with the One Big Beautiful Bill because it does not include the policies he wanted.' Musk late last night appeared to extend an olive branch on social media, replying: 'You're not wrong' to a post from hedge fund manager Bill Ackman that called on the pair to reconcile and urged: 'We're much stronger together than apart'. Trump's aides are reportedly looking to organise a call between the president and his former 'First Buddy' later today to smooth over the fallout. Musk also walked back his statement about decommissioning the Dragon rocket. But the consequences of the spat were immediate. Musk yesterday said he would begin 'decommissioning' his company's Dragon spacecraft use to take astronauts to and from the International Space Station after Trump threatened to terminate government contracts with the tech mogul's companies Tesla's stock price plunged 14% on Thursday - wiping hundreds of billions of dollars off Musk's EV company's valuation. It also drove uncertainty among Trump's allies in Congress, who are working to pass the monumental spending package that Democrats and a small number of vocal Republicans oppose. The breakup could go on to drastically reshape both men's futures. For Trump, losing Musk's backing threatens his growing influence among tech donors, social media audiences and younger male voters - key groups that may now be harder to reach. It could also prove a damaging blow to Republican fundraising efforts ahead of next year's midterm elections. For Musk, however, the stakes are potentially even higher. The spat risks intensified scrutiny of his business practices that could jeopardise government contracts and invite regulatory probes, which might seriously threaten his companies' profits. A termination of government contracts, including for launching rockets and for the use of the Starlink satellite service, would prove devastating.
New Statesman
an hour ago
- New Statesman
Elon Musk's surreal war on Donald Trump will fail
Few predicted Elon Musk's time in the White House would end with him accusing the president of cavorting with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. But here we are. Perhaps it was inevitable. The split between Musk and Trump was fast, public and potentially fuelled by ulterior substances. Musk unleashed an assault on the president's flagship legislation on X last night, called for the president to be impeached and replaced by JD Vance, and polled his followers on whether a third party should be established. He was flinging out tweets to his 220 million followers with relish and abandon. The New York Times reported last week that Musk was inhaling ecstasy, ketamine and magic mushrooms during his time leading Doge at a greater rate than previously thought. That was when he was gutting key departments such as foreign aid and firing thousands of federal workers. Trump never seemed that interested in restructuring government bureaucracy. He let Musk maraud through Washington out of what looked like a personal affection for the erratic tech billionaire. At his farewell press conference in the Oval Office last week, Trump gave Musk a token key to the White House while the Tesla executive stood awkwardly by, sporting a suspicious black eye. In the end, Musk's promise to cut spending by two trillion dollars was made redundant by what he calls the 'Debt Slavery bill', which is predicted to increase the deficit by $2.4 trillion. Musk is convinced the country is facing an imminent debt crisis, a prospect leading to growing alarm within the financial markets. In May, one major credit rating agency downgraded the quality of US debt for the first time since 1917. The split means that Musk's credibility has cratered within the Maga movement. Trump still reigns unchallenged. His grip on Maga is total and most of his fans – regardless of how many retweets Musk can muster – hang on his word with religious fealty. Now, Musk has been exiled from the kingdom. Entering the blacklist in Trumpland neuters any influence a wannabe Maga player might have with the movement. He has been expelled from the fiefdom with his reputation in tatters. It's a warning – if any was needed – that Trump's collaborators get burnt. That said, Musk is not your average lackey. Many wily Republicans on the Hill will remember that he spent nearly $300 million to get Trump elected. Wealth wields power. The Republicans are polling poorly, with the midterms only eighteen months away. Maybe Musk will use his galactic wealth to rally some support within Congress by dangling donations in front of fiscal hawks. Or perhaps he is amputating himself from an administration which he now sees as fiscally incontinent and flirting with default. Within the Maga movement, chalk this down as a defeat for the tech bros in the war against the nationalist populists. The latter celebrated last night. While the war on X unfolded, British ambassador Peter Mandelson toasted the unveiling of a plaque marking the 'Ambassador's sofa' at Maga hideout Butterworth's with restauranteur Raheem Kassam over English sparkling wine. The former Farage advisor then popped outside wielding a cigarette and a pint of Guiness to heckle a passing Tesla Cybertruck. 'Today was really important,' Kassam told me. 'Remember in 2012 the Tea Party effectively got captured by the corporatists. They sold out the Tea Party to the Koch network. Whereas today, Maga showed that it is not for sale. No policy is for sale. No fealty is for sale, and this allows, once again, Donald Trump to be Donald Trump.' Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Butterworth's regular Steve Bannon, whom Kassam used to work for, celebrated his victory against the arch techno-feudalist by calling for South African-born Musk to be deported. Another Bannon agent told me: 'Steve isn't the type to say I told you so, but I told you so'. Control shifted during this surreal war between world powerbrokers. This was the exercise of power as entertainment, delivered in meme-form. It unfurled with the tone of a bitter livestream between rival Minecraft junkies. [See also: The Biden cover-up] Related
