Education Committee GOP chair calls Harvard response to antisemitism subpoenas ‘useless’

The GOP leader of the House Education Committee is dismissing as “useless” Harvard University’s response to her panel’s subpoena in its ongoing antisemitism probe.

“Harvard has absolutely failed to comply in good faith with the Committee’s subpoena for information about antisemitism on its campus,” committee Chair Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) said Wednesday in a statement. 

“Many of the 2,500 pages submitted to the Committee were duplicates of documents already submitted. Heavy redactions throughout the production made several documents useless,” Foxx continued. “The Committee is weighing an appropriate response to Harvard’s malfeasance.”

The Education Committee announced an investigation into Harvard, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Pennsylvania in December in the wake of backlash to testimony by their presidents on the issue of antisemitism on campus.

Foxx’s committee sent a letter to Harvard in January asking for records going back to 2021. The documents requested include reports of antisemitic activity and information on the issue given to the Harvard Corp. and its board. 

The North Carolina Republican later criticized Harvard for what she said was a “woefully inadequate” initial production of documents in relation to her committee’s investigation.

“Rather than answering the Committee’s request in a substantive manner, Harvard has chosen to provide letters from nonprofits and student handbooks, many of which are already publicly available,” she continued. “This is unacceptable. Harvard must produce the remaining documents in a timely manner, or risk compulsory measures.”

Foxx would later announce subpoenas for three Harvard officials, marking the first time the committee had issued a subpoena to a university.

The school submitted additional documents in response to the subpoena Monday.

A representative from Harvard told The Hill that the school did not not count duplicates among its submitted papers, saying it has given the panel nearly 4,900 total pages of documents since the beginning of the year.

“Harvard denounced antisemitism on our campus and have made clear that the University will continue to take actions to combat antisemitism in any form,” a spokesperson had previously said. “This includes ongoing efforts to engage with and learn from students, faculty and staff to identify the causes of antisemitic behaviors and address them when they occur on our campus.”

Updated at 12:05 p.m. ET