Harvard Corporation condemns "racist vitriol", says Gay "acknowledged missteps" The Harvard Corporation, the university’s highest governing body, released a statement thanking Claudine Gay for her service as president, and condemning what they said was “racist vitriol” directed at her. Gay, who took office in July, was the first African-American to serve as president of the 388-year-old institution, and the second woman. She resigned today amid allegations that she had committed plagiarism in her published work, and after House Republicans accused her of antisemitism following her appearance at a committee hearing that dealt with protests on college campuses against Israel’s invasion of Gaza. “In the face of escalating controversy and conflict, President Gay and the Fellows have sought to be guided by the best interests of the institution whose future progress and wellbeing we are together committed to uphold. Her own message conveying her intention to step down eloquently underscores what those who have worked with her have long known – her commitment to the institution and its mission is deep and selfless. It is with that overarching consideration in mind that we have accepted her resignation,” the Harvard Corporation wrote in a letter obtained by the Guardian’s US politics live blog. “We do so with sorrow. While President Gay has acknowledged missteps and has taken responsibility for them, it is also true that she has shown remarkable resilience in the face of deeply personal and sustained attacks. While some of this has played out in the public domain, much of it has taken the form of repugnant and in some cases racist vitriol directed at her through disgraceful emails and phone calls. We condemn such attacks in the strongest possible terms.” Claudine Gay resigned as president of Harvard, amid pressure over her response to questions about antisemitism at US colleges and allegations that she plagiarized some of her academic work. Her resignation came just six months after she was appointed as the first Black person and the second woman to lead the Ivy League institution. The campaign against Gay was led by conservative activists, and championed by far-right congresswoman Elise Stefanik, whose combative questioning of university presidents at a congressional hearing went viral. Republicans took a victory lap after Gay’s resignation, and Stefanik claimed credit. At least one legal expert believes the appeals court will reject Trump’s immunity claim. Steve Scalise, the second-highest ranking Republican in the House, endorsed Trump for president. Trump’s attacks on prosecutors who have brought charges against him could damage US democracy, experts fear.– Adria R Walker, Chris Stein Al Sharpton, the civil rights leader and MSNBC talk show host, said that Gay’s resignation amounted to “an attack on every Black woman in this country who’s put a crack in the glass ceiling”. In a statement to CNN, he said his civil rights organization, the National Action Network would pickett outside the office of Wall Street financier and Harvard alum Bill Ackman, who pressured the university to fire Gay. “If he doesn’t think Black Americans belong in the C-Suite, the Ivy League, or any other hallowed halls, we’ll make ourselves at home outside his office,” Sharpton said. Elise Stefanik, the Republican congresswoman whose combative questioning of Claudine Gay and two other prominent university administrators about antisemitism at a committee hearing went viral, is taking credit for Gay’s resignation in a Fox News interview. “You know, this accountability would not have happened were it not for that congressional hearing, and I think what it forced was greater scrutiny of her position as the President of Harvard,” said Stefanik. Stefanik graduated from Harvard in 2006, and has a complicated relationship with the university. After the January 6 insurrection, the university removed her from its advisory board due to her baseless public statements about election fraud. The congresswoman told Fox News that an ongoing congressional investigation would “institutional rots in these formally prestigious universities, whether it’s their DEI offices, or whether it’s the antisemitism that we see raging on college campuses”. The congresswoman has been criticized by colleagues for her failure to hold Donald Trump and other far-right and Republican figures to account for their antisemitism, even has she takes up the cause of antisemitism on college campuses. Sanders calls for Congress to reject military aid to Israel Progressive senator Bernie Sanders is calling on Congress to cut off military assistance to Israel, saying its response to Hamas’s 7 October attack is “grossly disproportionate, immoral, and in violation of international law”. The statement by Sanders, an independent from Vermont who caucuses with the Democrats, could complicate passage of a security bill Joe Biden is supporting to fund Ukraine’s defense against the Russian invasion, as well as Israel’s campaign against Hamas. Republicans have held up passage of the bill as they try to get Democrats to agree to tougher restrictions on asylum seekers, though some in the GOP oppose Ukraine aid entirely. “The issue we face with Israel-Gaza is not complicated. While we recognize that Hamas’ barbaric terrorist attack began this war, we must also recognize that Israel’s military response has been grossly disproportionate, immoral, and in violation of international law. And, most importantly for Americans, we must understand that Israel’s war against the Palestinian people has been significantly waged with US bombs, artillery shells, and other forms of weaponry. And the results have been catastrophic,” Sanders said. “Congress is working to pass a supplemental funding bill that includes $10 billion of unconditional military aid for the right-wing Netanyahu government to continue its brutal war against the Palestinian people. Enough is enough. Congress must reject that funding. The taxpayers of the United States must no longer be complicit in destroying the lives of innocent men, women, and children in Gaza.” Harvard Corporation condemns "racist vitriol", says Gay "acknowledged missteps" The Harvard Corporation, the university’s highest governing body, released a statement thanking Claudine Gay for her service as president, and condemning what they said was “racist vitriol” directed at her. Gay, who took office in July, was the first African-American to serve as president of the 388-year-old institution, and the second woman. She resigned today amid allegations that she had committed plagiarism in her published work, and after House Republicans accused her of antisemitism following her appearance at a committee hearing that dealt with protests on college campuses against Israel’s invasion of Gaza. “In the face of escalating controversy and conflict, President Gay and the Fellows have sought to be guided by the best interests of the institution whose future progress and wellbeing we are together committed to uphold. Her own message conveying her intention to step down eloquently underscores what those who have worked with her have long known – her commitment to the institution and its mission is deep and selfless. It is with that overarching consideration in mind that we have accepted her resignation,” the Harvard Corporation wrote in a letter obtained by the Guardian’s US politics live blog. “We do so with sorrow. While President Gay has acknowledged missteps and has taken responsibility for them, it is also true that she has shown remarkable resilience in the face of deeply personal and sustained attacks. While some of this has played out in the public domain, much of it has taken the form of repugnant and in some cases racist vitriol directed at her through disgraceful emails and phone calls. We condemn such attacks in the strongest possible terms.” House Republicans are taking a victory lap after Claudine Gay’s resignation as president of Harvard University. Here’s Oklahoma’s Kevin Hern, who leads the Republican Study Committee, a large caucus of conservative lawmakers: And Michigan’s John James, who attempts to link her resignation to accusations of antisemitism, though it appears it was plagiarism claims that were her downfall: In December, a Republican-convened House committee hearing into allegations of antisemitism on college campuses kicked off the chain of events that caused the resignation of University of Pennsylvania president Elizabeth Magill and, as of today, Harvard University president Claudine Gay. While it was instances of apparent plagiarism that were Gay’s undoing, the hearing was a key moment in the ongoing saga, and this story by the Guardian’s Robert Tait gets into what happened: The controversy over the comments of three elite US university presidents made at a congressional hearing on antisemitism could reverberate far beyond their campuses. On Tuesday, the Harvard Corporation, the school’s highest governing body, announced that the university’s president, Claudine Gay, would remain in her post after calls for her removal following the testimony. The news came days after another president, Elizabeth Magill of the University of Pennsylvania, quit following backlash to her responses to combative questioning at the hearing from the New York Republican congresswoman Elise Stefanik. At issue is how campuses are handling accusations of antisemitism on college campuses following the 7 October Hamas attack on Israel and Israel’s air and ground offensive in Gaza that has triggered a wave of pro-Palestinian campus protests. But the controversy has widened since last week’s hearing, with implications for free expression on campus. Supporters of Palestinian rights see an effort to muzzle criticism of Israel, which faces condemnation for the soaring civilian death toll in its military offensive against Gaza. Elise Stefanik, Republican congresswoman at center of antisemitism hearing, says Gay"s resignation is "long overdue" Elise Stefanik, the Republican congresswoman whose questions to Claudine Gay at a committee hearing led to the now-former Harvard president being accused of antisemitism, said her resignation was “long overdue”. “I will always deliver results. The resignation of Harvard’s antisemitic plagiarist president is long overdue. Claudine Gay’s morally bankrupt answers to my questions made history as the most viewed Congressional testimony in the history of the U.S. Congress,” the New York congresswoman said in a statement. “Her answers were absolutely pathetic and devoid of the moral leadership and academic integrity required of the President of Harvard. This is just the beginning of what will be the greatest scandal of any college or university in history.” While the questions by Stefanik to Gay along with University of Pennsylvania president Liz Magill and Massachusetts Institute of Technology president Sally Kornbluth were criticized for being misleading, they were certainly consequential, with Magill resigning shortly after the 5 December hearing. In her statement, Stefanik said Republicans would continue looking into antisemitism allegations on college campuses: “Our robust Congressional investigation will continue to move forward to expose the rot in our most “prestigious” higher education institutions and deliver accountability to the American people.” The Harvard Corporation, the university’s highest governing body, has just announced that Alan M Garber will serve as interim president of the Ivy League institution “until a new leader for Harvard is identified and takes office,” Reuters reports. Garber is a Harvard professor and since 2011 has been the university’s provost, essentially the institution’s chief academic officer who serves as an adviser to the deans and a bridge between them and the university president and governing body. Gay says she will return to Harvard faculty after resigning the presidency. Her letter refers obliquely to the recent rows over the extent to which antisemitic speech would be tolerated on campus under the free speech banner and allegations of plagiarism in some of her past work. It does not make clear explicitly why she has resigned or whether she was required to do so. She also signals that she has come under racist attack. Her letter on the Harvard website further says: My deep sense of connection to Harvard and its people has made it all the more painful to witness the tensions and divisions that have riven our community in recent months, weakening the bonds of trust and reciprocity that should be our sources of strength and support in times of crisis. Amidst all of this, it has been distressing to have doubt cast on my commitments to confronting hate and to upholding scholarly rigor – two bedrock values that are fundamental to who I am and frightening to be subjected to personal attacks and threats fueled by racial animus. Harvard"s Claudine Gay issues resignation statement The resignation letter of Claudine Gay has now been posted on the Harvard University website. She says: Dear members of the Harvard Community, it is with a heavy heart but a deep love for Harvard that I write to share that I will be stepping down as president. This is not a decision I came to easily. Indeed, it has been difficult beyond words because I have looked forward to working with so many of you to advance the commitment to academic excellence that has propelled this great university across centuries. But, after consultation with members of the Corporation, it has become clear that it is in the best interests of Harvard for me to resign so that our community can navigate this moment of extraordinary challenge with a focus on the institution rather than any individual.” The outgoing president of Harvard, Claudine Gay, has issued a statement saying “I will be stepping down as president,” Reuters reports. No details have yet been issued about whether Gay is resigning as a result of a plagiarism scandal that unfolded about her in recent weeks, with some believing this was driven by rightwing activism intent of ousting the academic, or disquiet at her congressional testimony in Washington on 5 December. There she declined to specifically outlaw speech on campus calling for the genocide of Jews in the wake of Israel’s onslaught in Gaza against Hamas for the Islamist group’s perpetration of a massacre in southern Israel on 7 October. Israel’s military retaliation has now killed more than 22,000 Palestinians in Gaza. At the 5 December congressional committee hearing in Washington, Representative Elise Stefanik – a Harvard graduate and former Republican mainstream conservative who has rebranded herself as a pro-Trump Maga Republican – was described by my colleague Robert Tait as having ambushed the university chiefs, towards the end of five hours of testimony. Demanding “yes or no” answers, she succeeded in making them appear ambivalent or equivocal on the issue of genocide by posing general, broad-brush questions whose terms were open to competing definitions. In one particular line of questioning seen as tendentious by some, she linked the Arabic word “intifada” – a term generally translated into English as “uprising” – with genocide, a word originally coined to describe crimes of deliberate group-based mass destruction. “You understand that the use of the term ‘intifada’ in the context of the Israeli-Arab conflict is indeed a call for violent armed resistance against the state of Israel, including violence against civilians and the genocide of Jews,” Stefanik asked Gay. The question was asked against the backdrop of chants – including at student demonstrations – to “globalize the intifada” in response to Israel’s Gaza onslaught. Yet using intifada as a synonym for genocide looks highly dubious. The first Palestinian intifada in the late 1980s consisted largely of non-violent forms of civil disobedience. The second intifada of the 1990s and early 2000s saw a wave of suicide bombings that killed more than 1,000 Israelis and maimed many others. While segments of Israeli society were left traumatised, it appeared to fall short of the legal definition of genocide. Gay did not contest or engage with Stefanik’s definitions but said “that type of hateful, reckless, offensive speech is personally abhorrent”. The Harvard Crimson reports thus: Gay’s resignation – just six months and two days into the presidency – comes amid growing allegations of plagiarism and lasting doubts over her ability to respond to antisemitism on campus after her disastrous congressional testimony Dec. 5. Gay weathered scandal after scandal over her brief tenure, facing national backlash for her administration’s response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack and allegations of plagiarism in her scholarly work. The Corporation – the University’s highest governing body – is expected to announce the resignation to Harvard affiliates in an email later today. Gay is also expected to make a statement about the decision.” Harvard president Claudine Gay will resign this afternoon, the campus student newspaper the Harvard Crimson is reporting, citing a person with knowledge of the decision. The publication points out that Gay’s will be the shortest presidency in the university’s history. She only assumed the presidency of the private, elite Ivy League institution in July of 2023, the university’s 30th president, after having served as the dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences since 2018. She was Harvard’s first Black president and only its second woman in that post. Confirmation of this news is awaited. The Harvard Corporation, the highest governing body at the elite private university, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, had initially backed the university’s president, Claudine Gay, as she remained in post. This was despite calls for her removal following controversial testimony to Congress over antisemitism on campus last month. Gay and the presidents of University of Pennsylvania and MIT had faced backlash for their remarks on Capitol Hill at a hearing into antisemitism on college campuses. Republican congresswoman Elise Stefanik, of New York, demanded a “yes” or “no” response to her question of whether calling for the genocide of Jews would violate their university’s code of conduct. The presidents’ various responses were criticized for not being crystal clear in their condemnation of calls for genocide. More than 70 lawmakers called for the three presidents to be removed following the hearing, with Harvard donors and some faculty echoing calls for Gay’s removal. The House committee on education and the workforce has announced an official congressional investigation into antisemitism at Harvard. Liz Magill, the president of the University of Pennsylvania, resigned following the backlash, though she had been facing criticism before the hearing. Gay issued an apology for her response during the congressional testimony in an interview with the Harvard Crimson. More than 700 faculty members signed a petition backing Gay in response to the calls for her removal. The Harvard Alumni Association’s executive committee also announced its support for her. On 12 December, the Harvard Corporation issued a statement of support for Gay’s presidency. President of Harvard resigns after Israel-Gaza, plagiarism row - reports The president of Harvard, Claudine Gay, has resigned, according to news agency Reuters, citing the student newspaper the Harvard Crimson. Not directly Washington DC politics, but she’s been in the hot seat since controversial congressional testimony last month where she was slammed over antisemitic extreme speech from student bodies on campus calling for genocide amid Israel’s retaliation in Gaza for the 7 October Hamas attacks. She was also in the spotlight for inquiries into accusations of plagiarism in some of her work. More details asap. The day so far We expect Donald Trump’s legal team to at some point today file to the Washington DC federal appeals court their latest argument that the former president is immune from charges related to the January 6 insurrection. Trump continues to lead in polls of the Republican presidential field, and also has surprising strength among Latino voters, who will prove crucial in deciding the next president. Meanwhile, a gunman opened fire early this morning at the building housing the Colorado supreme court, which last month disqualified Trump from the state’s primary ballot. However, police say the incident was not related to threats leveled against the justices since their decision. Here’s what else has happened today: At least one legal expert believes the appeals court will reject Trump’s immunity claim. Steve Scalise, the second-highest ranking Republican in the House, endorsed Trump for president. Trump’s attacks on prosecutors who have brought charges against him could damage US democracy, experts fear. A new poll released yesterday showed Donald Trump dominating the GOP primary field – but also posting relative good numbers among Latino voters, whose support could be key to winning an expected general election contest against Joe Biden. Here’s more, from the Guardian’s Coral Murphy Marcos: A new poll indicates former US president Donald Trump is gaining ground among Latino voters, wiping out incumbent Joe Biden’s lead among the crucial, but diverse, voting bloc. A USA Today and Suffolk University survey showed Trump was ahead with 39% support among Latino voters surveyed, compared with Biden’s 34%, signaling a slump since 2020, when Biden garnered 65% of the approval from Latino voters. The data also highlights a broader trend of decreasing support for Biden among various key demographic groups, including young voters. The decline in support among Latinos is seen as a canary in the coalmine for Democrats, signaling potential challenges in retaining a key part of the electoral coalition that built Biden’s election victory in 2020. Trump leads among young voters under 35 with 37% support over Biden’s 33%, a stark drop from Biden’s 24-point lead among the voting group in 2020. The Democrats are, unsurprisingly, laying into Republican House majority leader Steve Scalise for his endorsement of Donald Trump today. Even before his endorsement, Scalise was among the many House Republicans who have cast doubt on the validity of Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election, and supported the Trump campaign’s failed effort to get the supreme court to interfere in the vote result four years ago. Here’s what Democratic National Committee press secretary Sarafina Chitika had to say about Scalise’s latest endorsement of Trump: MAGA House Republicans keep showing America they’ve turned the House into little more than an arm of Donald Trump’s campaign – so it’s no surprise Steve Scalise, who called himself ‘David Duke without the baggage,’ is joining the parade of House extremists backing Trump’s bid. Scalise’s top priority has always been pushing Trump’s unpopular agenda: He voted against certifying the 2020 election, is hellbent on banning abortion nationwide, and worked with Trump to try to rip away Americans’ health care. Scalise’s endorsement is the latest proof that while the House GOP is unable to accomplish anything on behalf of the American people, they are laser-focused on advancing Trump’s MAGA agenda and ripping away freedoms. At least one legal expert believes the Washington DC-based federal appeals court will swiftly reject Donald Trump’s attempt to claim immunity from charges related to trying to overturn the 2020 election, the Guardian’s Martin Pengelly reports: Donald Trump will “very swiftly” see his attempt to claim legal immunity for acts committed during his presidency dismissed by a top Washington court, a former Trump White House lawyer said. “So Jack Smith has a winner on this one, right?” Jim Schultz told CNN, referring to the special counsel investigating Trump for election subversion, who on Saturday asked the US court of appeals for the District of Columbia circuit to reject Trump’s claim. Schultz added: “The supreme court rejected the idea of expediting this, but it still goes to the DC circuit court. And it’s common knowledge in the legal community [that] DC circuit court is kind of the warm-up act for the supreme court. A lot of supreme court justices have come from the DC circuit. “And this is the right tribunal to be hearing it. And I think in this instance the DC circuit court is going to act swiftly. And I think they’re going to knock down this immunity claim … very swiftly.” Colorado police say shooting at state supreme court not related to threats to justices In a statement, the Colorado state patrol says the early morning shooting at the state’s supreme court building in Denver is not related to recent threats made to the justices, who last month disqualified Donald Trump from the GOP primary ballot. “At this time, it is believed that this is not associated with previous threats to the Colorado Supreme Court Justices”, the state patrol said. They added that the incident caused “significant and extensive damage to the building”, and is being investigated by the Denver police department. Here’s the full narrative on the shooting, from the Colorado state patrol: Today, at approximately 1:15 a.m., a two-vehicle crash occurred at 13th Street and Lincoln. One individual involved reportedly pointed a handgun at the other driver. A short time later, that same individual shot out a window on the east side of the Ralph L. Carr Colorado Judicial Center located at 2 East 14th Ave, Denver, CO 80203. The individual entered the building and came in contact with an unarmed security guard from the Colorado State Patrol Capitol Security Unit. The individual held the security guard at gunpoint and demanded access to other parts of the building. The individual obtained keys from the security guard and proceeded into other parts of the building and accessed an unknown number of floors. Denver Police Department (DPD) officers, as well as Colorado State Patrol Troopers, responded to the scene and set up a perimeter. The suspect then made his way to the 7th floor, where he fired additional shots inside the building. At approximately 3:00 a.m., the suspect called 911 and voluntarily surrendered to police. He was placed in custody without further incident. There are no injuries to building occupants, the suspect, or police personnel. The suspect was taken to a local hospital to be cleared by medical personnel. There is significant and extensive damage to the building and the investigation is ongoing. The Denver Police Department will be taking the lead on the investigation. The CSP and DPD are treating this incident seriously, but at this time, it is believed that this is not associated with previous threats to the Colorado Supreme Court Justices. Number-two House Republican Scalise endorses Trump for president Steve Scalise, the Louisiana congressman who is the second-highest ranking House Republican, has endorsed Donald Trump for president: Scalise, who serves as House majority leader, was briefly the party’s nominee for the speaker after Kevin McCarthy’s removal from the post in October, but ultimately stepped aside, clearing for Mike Johnson’s election as the chamber’s leader. Johnson already endorsed Trump’s campaign for a second term in the White House. The Colorado supreme court’s ruling last month disqualifying Donald Trump from the state’s Republican primary ballot comes amid several legal challenges to his candidacy nationwide, which appear destined to be decided by the supreme court, Reuters reports: The Colorado Republican party has asked the US supreme court to intervene after Colorado’s top court disqualified former president Donald Trump from appearing on the state’s Republican primary ballot, an attorney for the Republican group said. The appeal comes after the Colorado supreme court last week disqualified Trump because of his role in the 6 January 2021 attack on the US Capitol by his supporters. The court barred Trump under a US constitutional provision prohibiting anyone who “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” from holding public office. The Colorado Republican party is being represented by Jay Sekulow of the conservative litigation firm the American Center for Law & Justice. Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican 2024 presidential nomination, is expected to file his own appeal. The state high court had put its decision on hold until 4 January, stating that Trump would remain on the ballot if he appealed. Gunman arrested after opening fire in Colorado supreme court, which disqualified Trump from ballot - report Police have arrested a man who broke into the Colorado supreme court building and opened fire early this morning, CNN reports. The assailant took an unarmed security guard hostage after shooting out a window and entering the building in downtown Denver, but the Colorado state patrol said no injuries resulted from the incident. In late December, the court had in a 4-3 ruling disqualified Donald Trump from the state’s ballot for his involvement in the January 6 insurrection. Here’s more on the shooting, from CNN: Tuesday’s incident began unfolding around 1:15 a.m. and ended nearly two hours later, when the suspect surrendered to police, according to the news release. “There are no injuries to building occupants, the suspect, or police personnel,” the release said, adding there was “significant and extensive damage to the building.” The incident began with a two-vehicle crash at 13th Avenue and Lincoln Street in Denver, near the Ralph L. Carr Colorado Judicial Center, which houses the state supreme court. A person involved in that crash “reportedly pointed a handgun at the other driver,” the release said. That individual then shot out a window on the east side of the judicial center and entered the building. The individual encountered an unarmed security guard, held the guard at gunpoint and took the guard’s keys before going to other parts of the building, including the seventh floor, where he fired more shots, the release said. The suspect called 911 at 3 a.m. and surrendered to police, the release said. In addition to arguing in court, Donald Trump has taken to issuing personal attacks against the prosecutors who have brought charges against him in three states and the District of Columbia. As the Guardian’s Peter Stone reports, experts fear his campaign of insults could do real damage to America’s institutions: As Donald Trump faces 91 felony counts with four trials slated for 2024, including two tied to his drives to overturn his 2020 election loss, his attacks on prosecutors are increasingly conspiratorial and authoritarian in style and threaten the rule of law, say former justice department officials. The former US president’s vitriolic attacks on a special counsel and two state prosecutors as well as some judges claim in part that the charges against Trump amount to “election interference” since he’s seeking the presidency again, and that “presidential immunity” protects Trump for his multiple actions to subvert Joe Biden’s 2020 victory. But ex-officials and other experts say Trump’s campaign and social media bashing of the four sets of criminal charges – echoed in ways by his lawyers’ court briefs – are actually a hodgepodge of conspiracy theories and very tenuous legal claims, laced with Trump’s narcissism and authoritarian impulses aimed at delaying his trials or quashing the charges. Much of Trump’s animus is aimed at the special counsel Jack Smith, who has charged him with four felony counts for election subversion, and 40 felony counts for mishandling classified documents when his presidency ended. Just days ago, prosecutors on special counsel Jack Smith’s team argued that granting Donald Trump immunity from the charges he faces for trying to overturn the 2020 election would threaten US democracy, the Associated Press reports: Special counsel Jack Smith urged a federal appeals court Saturday to reject former president Donald Trump’s claims that he is immune from prosecution, saying the suggestion that he cannot be held to account for crimes committed in office “threatens the democratic and constitutional foundation” of the country. The filing from Smith’s team was submitted be