Harvard Submits More Documents as House Committee Weighs Subpoena in Antisemitism Investigation

After Harvard submitted additional documents ahead of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce’s final deadline on Wednesday, the committee is still weighing whether to issue a subpoena.

“The Committee is reviewing the documents and will make a determination on whether a subpoena is warranted once a thorough review is completed,” said Nick Barley, a spokesperson for the committee.

The University’s submission and the committee’s threat is just the latest move in a prolonged game of cat and mouse that started days after former President Claudine Gay’s controversial congressional testimony led the committee to open an investigation into Harvard.

Committee Chairwoman Virgina Foxx (R-N.C.) issued Harvard a final warning last week in a letter requesting meeting minutes from the University’s governing boards and the Harvard Management Company, in addition to extensive private communications between board members and administrators relating to antisemitism.

Foxx’s Feb. 7 letter also asked Harvard to produce all documents and internal communications relating to former President Claudine Gay’s antisemitism advisory group and the presidential task force on antisemitism established by her successor, interim Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76.

According to the letter, the University already provided limited summaries of fall meetings by the Harvard Corporation — the University’s highest governing body — and a list of recommendations drafted by Gay’s advisory group, which Foxx called the only “document of significance” in Harvard’s first eight submissions. Most of the University’s submissions to the committee were publicly available documents.

Harvard spokesperson Jason A. Newton wrote in a Wednesday statement that “in response to the Committee’s numerous requests for information and documents, Harvard has responded extensively and in good faith—including ten (10) submissions totaling more than 3,500 pages that address the areas of inquiry put forward by the Committee— and we remain committed to continued cooperation.”

“Through these submissions, Harvard has demonstrated clearly the steps it has and continues to take to combat acts of antisemitism on our campus. Our submissions also provide detail on the resources available to our students to support them during these challenging times,” he added.

The Committee on Education and the Workforce first opened its investigation into allegations of antisemitism on Harvard’s campus on Dec. 7. The investigation was later expanded to include plagiarism allegations against Gay on Dec. 20.

If the committee does decide to subpoena Harvard, senior University officials could be forced to testify in a hearing before the committee.

—Staff writer Emma H. Haidar can be reached at emma.haidar@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @HaidarEmma.

—Staff writer Cam E. Kettles can be reached at cam.kettles@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @cam_kettles or on Threads @camkettles.