[Breitbart] Several universities around the nation are currently under investigation by the Department of Education over their alleged financial ties to the Chinese government. A report published this week suggests that many universities are refusing to comply with a standard request to produce internal documents.According to a report by the College Fix, several universities and colleges that are under investigation by the Department of Education are refusing to release internal documents that may contain evidence of undisclosed financial grants from the Chinese government.
The report claims that lawyers for several universities refused to comply with a request to produce documents, arguing that they were entitled to privacy under "Freedom of Information Act exemptions and legal privileges." A letter from the Department of Education did not name the universities and colleges that have refused to comply with the request for documents.
Department of Education General Counsel Reed Rubinstein believes that many American universities and colleges have been compromised by foreign governments, China being one of the primary governments in question. "However, the evidence suggests massive investments of foreign money have bred dependency and distorted the decision making, mission, and values of too many institutions," Rubinstein said.
The Department of Education announced in February that it would investigate Harvard and Yale over their failure to disclose millions of dollars in gifts from foreign governments.
Universities and colleges are, however, entitled to some privacy due to the structure of the United States government. Rubinstein noted that the Department of Education will not be permitted to publicly release all of the documents that they receive from universities and colleges.
"Inappropriate disclosure of confidential information could lead to separation of powers concerns and will certainly impair the factfinding and enforcement work Congress has authorized us to do," Rubinstein added.
Breitbart News reported this week that Case Western Reserve Professor Qing Wang was arrested over his undisclosed financial ties with the Chinese government. Wang had reportedly failed to disclose his affiliations with several Chinese universities when applying for a multi-million grant from the National Institutes of Health for research he was conducting at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.