Trump administration unlawfully cut Harvard's funding, US judge rules

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00:00In the fight between Harvard and the Trump administration, the U.S.'s oldest university just scored a major legal win.

00:08A federal judge ruled that the government's revoking of some $2.2 billion in research funding was illegal.

00:15For students, it was a go crimson moment.

00:17It made me happy to know that the judicial system is sticking up for us.

00:22A lot of that money is being used for life-saving research to advance research in Alzheimer's, cancer.

00:27It's being put to good causes, and it's not like the advances that are being made from Harvard are insular.

00:33The U.S. government had argued that it was cancelling grants because of anti-Semitism on campus.

00:38But in an 84-page ruling, the Boston federal judge, Alison Burroughs, said the cuts were a violation of free speech rights.

00:46There is, in reality, little connection between the research affected by the grant terminations and anti-Semitism.

00:52Trump used anti-Semitism as a smokescreen for the targeted, ideologically motivated assault on this country's premier universities.

01:00The White House has vowed to appeal, calling Burroughs an activist Obama-appointed judge.

01:06Still in talks over a possible settlement deal, Harvard also issued a statement,

01:11with its president saying that the ruling affirms important principles and that it will be mindful of the changing landscape.

01:17Already, three Ivy League universities have reached settlements with the Trump administration.

01:23For a former Harvard president, the assault on American universities is part of a larger power grab.

01:29The agenda here is about destroying knowledge institutions because they are centers of independent thought and information.

01:38That's what's going on here. That is the story.

01:43Nothing justifies that. Nothing explains that, other than authoritarians don't like independent centers of thought and information.

01:53Already, U.S. courts have struck down Trump's quests to bar Harvard's international students,

01:59revoke accreditation status, and cut more funds to the university.

02:03Thank you very much.

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