Post AwNEJdxGEtskAd14oi by Nonilex@masto.ai
(DIR) More posts by Nonilex@masto.ai
(DIR) Post #AwNEDrXgoAi4ZeIbFw by Nonilex@masto.ai
2025-07-21T23:41:43Z
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A federal judge appeared deeply skeptical on Monday of the #Trump admin’s efforts to strip #HarvardUniversity of billions of dollars in #research #funding, suggesting the school might prevail in its #legal battle against the admin.Judge Allison D. Burroughs did not issue a ruling…, but she did seem receptive to #Harvard’s arguments, as both the #school & the #DOJ sought to have the case decided in their favor without a trial.#law #Constitution #DueProcess #AbuseOfPowerhttps://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/21/us/trump-administration-harvard-hearing.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
(DIR) Post #AwNEJdxGEtskAd14oi by Nonilex@masto.ai
2025-07-21T23:43:21Z
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The judge unleashed a barrage of pointed questions at the lone #DOJ lawyer. She demanded to know, for instance, how the #Trump admin could reasonably tie withdrawal of #medical #research #funding to concerns about the civil rights of Jewish people.And she appeared bothered by the admin’s hurried approach to attacking #Harvard’s research funding, suggesting there were potentially “staggering” constitutional consequences if the govt could punish a #university without #DueProcess.#law
(DIR) Post #AwNEh2TJFh5ArvA956 by Nonilex@masto.ai
2025-07-21T23:47:37Z
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…Michael Velchik, the #DOJ lawyer at the hearing, asserted on Monday that the #Trump admin had the #power to decide where it spent taxpayer money.“The choice was that the government does not want to fund research at institutions that fail to address antisemitism to its satisfaction,” he said, arguing that #Harvard’s rejection of the admin’s terms freed the admin to terminate any contracts with the #university.#law #Constitution #FreeSpeech #AcademicFreedom #DueProcess #AbuseOfPower
(DIR) Post #AwNEpo1SLM2Of4JaC0 by Nonilex@masto.ai
2025-07-21T23:49:12Z
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#Harvard, he said, “should have read the fine print.”Harvard has sharply disputed the idea that it condones discrimination. Steven P. Lehotsky, a lawyer for Harvard, told Judge Burroughs on Monday that the #Trump admin’s quest to punish Harvard was a “blatant, unrepentant violation of the #FirstAmendment.”He added, “It’s the constitutional third rail, or it should be, for the government to insist it can engage in viewpoint discrimination.”#law #Constitution #AcademicFreedom #DueProcess
(DIR) Post #AwNF1MnPOfpVh8FzLE by Nonilex@masto.ai
2025-07-21T23:51:17Z
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Judge Burroughs said relatively little during Mr. Lehotsky’s presentations, resting her chin on her right hand, her fingers usually covering her mouth. But she often lowered her hand when Mr. Velchik was before her.“Let’s assume for the sake of argument that #Harvard has not covered itself in glory on the topic of antisemitism,” she said, noting her own Jewish faith. What, she asked, was the relationship between antisemitism & cutting off, for instance, #cancer #research #funding?#Trump #law
(DIR) Post #AwNFGUyrFUKbQGpNPk by Nonilex@masto.ai
2025-07-21T23:54:01Z
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“You’re not taking away grants from labs that have been antisemitic,” she said.Velchik replied that the govt had discretion to direct public money as it saw fit.“You’re saying you can terminate a contract for any & all reasons, even if the reason you’re giving is a violation of the #Constitution?” Judge Burroughs asked Velchik at one point…. At another moment, she said, “I don’t think you can justify a contract action based on impermissible suppression of speech.”#Trump #law
(DIR) Post #AwNFRSwv8opGJB9Qno by Nonilex@masto.ai
2025-07-21T23:55:58Z
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#Harvard also argued the #Trump admin had sped past ordinary procedures in its haste to punish Harvard. Lehotsky depicted the admin’s argument as an unbound approach to #ExecutivePower, one that would effectively allow presidents & their ofcls to do “whatever we want, whatever our priorities are,” without any meaningful guardrails.Judge Burroughs seemed to share the worries of Lehotsky, who said the govt was pursuing an “anti-Harvard policy" that would be unlawful under any president.#law
(DIR) Post #AwNFWo0EID9B3IFFPl by Nonilex@masto.ai
2025-07-21T23:56:58Z
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“What I’m wrestling with is this idea that the executive branch can decide what is discriminatory or racist,” she said, and then make “these ad hoc decisions without any procedure around it.”She also appeared dismissive of the government’s contention that a different court, one dealing with financial disputes, should be hearing the case instead of her own.#Trump #law #Constitution #FreeSpeech #AcademicFreedom #DueProcess #AbuseOfPower
(DIR) Post #AwNFe6zA76SRxAEI8u by Nonilex@masto.ai
2025-07-21T23:58:15Z
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Velchik, himself a Harvard alumnus, scrambled on Monday to argue that the government was not seeking to decapitate Harvard. Naming a handful of luminaries who had studied at Harvard — Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., President John F. Kennedy and even the actor Matt Damon — he insisted that the government was seeking to strengthen and reshape an important American institution that had lost its way.#Trump #law #Constitution #FreeSpeech #AcademicFreedom #DueProcess #AbuseOfPower
(DIR) Post #AwNFm1NuoxPKtpZykq by Nonilex@masto.ai
2025-07-21T23:59:43Z
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In his telling, his alma mater had devolved into a bastion of bigotry that public money should not underwrite. He said the admin could choose, if it wished, to direct its largess toward other institutions. The case, he argued, was more about money for #Harvard than any profound matters like #FreeSpeech.Judge Burroughs suggested that Harvard might very well not be such a titan of American academia if the #Trump admin’s cuts stand.#law #Constitution #AcademicFreedom #DueProcess #AbuseOfPower
(DIR) Post #AwNG8XaxkBK5AYQ6u8 by huntingdon@mstdn.social
2025-07-22T00:03:46Z
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@Nonilex LOL. The Orwellian language is strong in this one, it is. "Strengthen and reshape" is doing a lot of work there, as is the pairing. Strengthen seems obviously wrong. Reshape is certainly correct.
(DIR) Post #AwNGP9fVxIyJswTI00 by Nonilex@masto.ai
2025-07-22T00:06:47Z
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…It is not clear when Judge Burroughs will rule.#Trump, in a social media post after the hearing, called Judge Burroughs “a TOTAL DISASTER, which I say even before hearing her Ruling.”He also criticized #Harvard, & reiterated promises to end its federal funds. “When she rules against us, we will IMMEDIATELY appeal, & WIN,” he wrote of Judge Burroughs. “Also, the Government will stop the practice of giving many Billions of Dollars to Harvard, much of which had been given without explanation.”
(DIR) Post #AwNGQzGzZp5qDtsJbU by huntingdon@mstdn.social
2025-07-22T00:07:04Z
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@Nonilex Mr. Velchik, Congress would like a word with you about who decides where to spend USG funds.
(DIR) Post #AwNGbwGR6X6A4npxVQ by Nonilex@masto.ai
2025-07-22T00:09:06Z
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#Harvard, citing deadlines for #grants, is pressing for a decision by early Sept. Judge Burroughs said she was mindful of that & that she had not “prejudged” the case.As the hearing neared its end, she directed her attention to Velchik. She decried #antisemitism. The matter before her, she said, was not about whether anyone favored antisemitism.“I think the issue is whether there’s a legitimate relationship between our distaste for discrimination & the approach the administration is taking.”
(DIR) Post #AwNGejVJ0EmnN17mCW by CWilbur@sfba.social
2025-07-22T00:09:34Z
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@Nonilex Great write-up. Thanks!
(DIR) Post #AwNIt3btFFlJguA86y by JesseKPhillips@hear-me.social
2025-07-22T00:34:29Z
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@Nonilex The government has been abusing finances to claim powers the Constitution never granted it. Can we all come together and finally agree the federal government needs to get its grubby financials out things?