Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo the latest to be targeted by Trump's Justice Department
Basil Smikle, Columbia University Professor and Andrew Weissmann, former top prosecutor at the Justice Department join Nicolle Wallace on Deadline White House with reaction to the latest episode of the weaponization of the Trump Justice Department with the DOJ opening an investigation into former NY Governor Andrew Cuomo, just months after the same department dismissed federal charges against NYC Mayor Eric Adams, who is a political opponent of Cuomo in the next NYC mayoral election.
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The Hill
37 minutes ago
- The Hill
Trump orders probe of Biden mental state, executive actions in office
President Trump on Wednesday ordered an investigation into actions taken by then-President Biden, citing questions about Biden's cognitive state toward the end of his term. Trump directed the counsel to the president, in consultation with Attorney General Pam Bondi, to probe 'whether certain individuals conspired to deceive the public about Biden's mental state and unconstitutionally exercise the authorities and responsibilities of the President.' The investigation will focus specifically on actions Biden signed using the 'autopen,' which has become a fixation of those on the right as they levy accusations about Biden's ability to carry out his duties. Trump's order cites Biden's appointment of more than 200 judges to the federal bench, the issuance of thousands of acts of clemency and the issuance of more than 1,000 presidential documents during his term. Biden and his aides have repeatedly denied that the former president was unable to carry out his duties while in office. A Biden spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Trump's latest order. New books, including 'Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again,' have reignited debate about Biden's mental acuity while in office and whether he experienced cognitive decline. Since President Trump took office, the GOP has taken a number of steps focusing on Biden. The White House confirmed Tuesday that pardon attorney Ed Martin would be reviewing Biden's pardons for his family members, as well as some other clemencies granted during his final days in office. House Republicans have reached out to former Biden aides as part of a probe into the former president's mental acuity. And the Justice Department last month released the full tapes of Biden's interview with special counsel Robert Hur, one in which the attorney said Biden appeared to have memory lapses. While president, Biden released the full transcript of the conversation.
Yahoo
40 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Columbia's accreditation threatened over harassment of Jewish students
June 4 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Education is threatening Columbia University's accreditation because the agency said the New York private school violated Title IX by not cracking down on harassment of Jewish students. The federal department on Wednesday notified the nonprofit and private Middle States Commission on Higher Education that Columbia is in violation of federal antidiscrimination laws and fails to meet the standards for accreditation set by the commission. On May 22, the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights and the Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights "determined that Columbia University acted with deliberate indifference toward the harassment of Jewish students, thereby violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964." The act prohibits recipients of federal funding from discriminating on the basis of race, color or national origin. "Specifically, OCR and HHS OCR found that Columbia failed to meaningfully protect Jewish students against severe and pervasive harassment on Columbia's campus and consequently denied these students' equal access to educational opportunities to which they are entitled under the law," the release Wednesday said. In a statement posted on its website: "Columbia is aware of the concerns raised by the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights today to our accreditor, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, and we have addressed those concerns directly with Middle States. Columbia is deeply committed to combatting antisemitism on our campus. We take this issue seriously and are continuing to work with the federal government to address it." Under federal law, private accreditors are required to notify any member institution about a federal noncompliance finding and establish a plan to come into compliance. An accreditor must take appropriate action against a member institution if they remain noncompliant. "In light of OCR's determination, Columbia University no longer appears to meet the Commission's accreditation standards," the Education Department said. On Feb. 3, OCR initiated a directed investigation of Columbia University on the harassment. When an institution does not meet accreditation standards, it may be placed on probation or issued a warning, according to the Middle States Commission. Rawan Abbasi, assistant director for communications for the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, told NBCNews the accreditor is "aware of the press release issued today by the United States Department of Education (USDE) regarding Columbia University and can confirm that we received a letter regarding this matter this afternoon. In March, the Trump administration paused $400 million in federal funding, including for medical and scientific research, at Columbia. In May, the school said it had agreed to the administration's demands regarding the harassment of Jewish students. The school said it was forced cut 180 staffers whose jobs were funded by the federal grants. Despite the Trump administration's actions, students protested the war like last year's encampments. On May 7, two Columbia University Public Safety officers were injured after 100 pro-Palestinian protesters forced their way into the campus' library in "actions that are outrageous," the university president said. About 22.8% of Columbia's 6,578 undergraduate students, or 1,500, are Jewish, according to Hillel International. Jewish graduate school enrollment is 15.9% of the 22,000 total. "After Hamas' October 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel, Columbia University's leadership acted with deliberate indifference towards the harassment of Jewish students on its campus," Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in the news release. "This is not only immoral, but also unlawful. Accreditors have an enormous public responsibility as gatekeepers of federal student aid. "They determine which institutions are eligible for federal student loans and Pell Grants. Just as the Department of Education has an obligation to uphold federal antidiscrimination law, university accreditors have an obligation to ensure member institutions abide by their standards. The war in the Middle East began when Hamas invaded Israel, killing more than 1,200 people and taking hundreds more hostage. Israel retaliated on the Gaza Strip, and more than 54,000 Palestinians have died, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. McMahan said she looked forward to the "Commission keeping the Department fully informed of actions taken to ensure Columbia's compliance with accreditation standards, including compliance with federal civil rights laws." President Donald Trump signed an executive order in April, called Reforming Accreditation to Strengthen Higher Education, that the department "has an obligation to promptly provide accreditors with any noncompliance findings related to member institutions." Other universities have told to comply school policy changes or risk losing federal funding after they were accused of tolerating antisemitism on campus or other violations. On May 29, a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from its attempt to deny Harvard University's ability to admit international students. The Trump administration has paused $2.2 billion in funding and canceled remaining contracts for the school in Cambridge, Mass., after the private school rejected demands, including changes to its hiring practices and policies regarding "viewpoint diversity" on campus.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Trump targets Columbia accreditation: What does it mean?
The Trump administration pulled the most devastating lever against Columbia University on Wednesday when it announced it was targeting the school's accreditation. A typically mundane aspect of higher education but with the ability to destroy a university, the college accreditation process gives a school the ability to qualify for federal student loans and Pell Grants. And the Education Department showed it would be using that avenue to its advantage. The federal agency announced Columbia was in violation of Title VI federal antidiscrimination laws, zeroing in on the university's alleged inaction on antisemitism. The department said it would be informing the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, the college accreditation group responsible for Columbia's status, of the violation and argues it's the organization's duty to take away Columbia's accreditation status. 'After Hamas' October 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel, Columbia University's leadership acted with deliberate indifference towards the harassment of Jewish students on its campus. This is not only immoral, but also unlawful. Accreditors have an enormous public responsibility as gatekeepers of federal student aid,' Education Secretary Linda McMahon said. 'Just as the Department of Education has an obligation to uphold federal antidiscrimination law, university accreditors have an obligation to ensure member institutions abide by their standards,' McMahon said. 'We look forward to the Commission keeping the Department fully informed of actions taken to ensure Columbia's compliance with accreditation standards including compliance with federal civil rights laws.' The Hill has reached out to Columbia for comment. The commission told The Hill it has received a letter from the Education Department regarding this matter but did not have further comment. With a price tag of more than $71,000 per year for tuition and fees (not including room and board), losing access to federal student loans and Pell Grants would make Columbia inaccessible to most of the country. The university's website says it awards $225 million each year in scholarships and grants and that 24 percent of first-year students receive Pell Grants. For a university to pass an accreditation process, it must meet numerous federal standards and have all aspects of its institution evaluated by an approved accreditor, from class selections to its admissions processes. President Trump, after calling the accreditation process his 'secret weapon' on the campaign trail, signed an executive order in April looking to revamp college accreditation, accusing the organizations of 'ideological overreach.' The executive order aims to allow colleges to switch accreditors more easily and create more competition in the area. The attack on Columbia's accreditation is the biggest escalation in Trump's war with higher education, but it's an unsurprising one to those who have been watching the administration scale up its actions against the nation's most prestigious institutions. Columbia students' leadership in the pro-Palestinian encampments that roiled college campuses across the country in spring 2024 put a target on the university in the eyes of Trump, Republicans and some pro-Israeli lawmakers. Soon after Trump took office, the administration pulled $400 million in federal grants from Columbia. It demanded the Ivy League school make numerous changes to disciplinary and other policies to even begin talks of resuming the federal funding. Within two weeks, Columbia met the administration's demands and went forward in negotiations with the Trump administration, but it only saw more attacks and pulled funding. The dust settled and friendlier tones were struck after Columbia took swift action last month to shut down a pro-Palestinian protest. The administration praised the move. The White House's Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism said the school's president 'met the moment with fortitude and conviction,' adding it 'is confident that Columbia will take the appropriate disciplinary actions for those involved in this act.' But Wednesday's actions took the fight to a height most in higher education were looking to avoid. Other universities locked in battle with the Trump administration, such as Harvard, will likely take this as a warning sign of what can come next for them. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
