CYA: Harvard Law Review Editors Spin New Narrative About Racial Preferences in Wake of Free Beacon Reports
2nd June 2025
A month after the Trump administration began investigating the Harvard Law Review over allegations of race discrimination, the journal published a “factsheet” purporting to set the record straight.
Referencing “recent news reports” that led to the investigation, the factsheet, published May 27, claimed that the Washington Free Beacon had “mischaracterized” the admissions process for student editors, half of whom are selected by a “holistic review committee” that in 2021 made the inclusion of “underrepresented groups” its “first priority.”
That language came from a so-called transition resolution passed by journal editors. The factsheet claimed that such resolutions are “not binding” and proceeded to quote from what it claimed were the current guidelines for editor selection, noting that they “closely follow” the guidance set forth in the Supreme Court’s decision banning affirmative action.