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Two federal agencies launched investigations Monday into Harvard and the Harvard Law Review for discriminating based on race and gender in article selection and journal membership, according to a joint press release.

The investigation, which will be undertaken by civil rights offices at the Department of Education and Department of Health and Human Services, will examine whether Harvard and the Law Review violated Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits race-based discrimination.

It comes three days after the Washington Free Beacon published an article accusing the Law Review of discriminating against white applicants and authors. The Free Beacon cited leaked memos and Slack messages that framed authors’ nonwhite racial identity as points in favor of publication and urged editors to consider “DEI factors” in reviewing article submissions.

HHS and the Education Department cited incidents reported in the Free Beacon as reasons for the investigation.

“Harvard Law Review’s article selection process appears to pick winners and losers on the basis of race, employing a spoils system in which the race of the legal scholar is as, if not more, important than the merit of the submission,” HHS Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig W. Trainor said in the Monday press release.

Under Title VI, the federal government can revoke federal funding from institutions that engage in discrimination based on race, color, national origin, or shared ancestry. The statute has become a favorite legal tool for Republicans seeking to revoke Harvard’s federal funding.

When the Trump administration froze more than $2.2 billion in federal funding to the University, it alleged that Harvard flouted “civil rights laws” by permitting antisemitism on its campus. The administration has also consistently attacked diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, which it asked Harvard to dismantle as a condition of keeping its federal funding, as racial discrimination barred under Title VI.

But when Harvard sued last week to block the freeze, the University’s lawyers argued that the government failed to follow procedures — including thorough investigations and written findings — that it must complete before pulling funding under Title VI.

The Law Review, a student-run publication, is independent from Harvard Law School. But the Title VI investigation will look into the relationship between the two, including “financial ties, oversight procedures, and selection policies.”

“This investigation reflects the Administration’s common-sense understanding that these opportunities should be earned through merit-based standards and not race,” Anthony F. Archeval, acting director of HHS’ Office for Civil Rights, said in the release.

HLS spokesperson Jeff Neal emphasized the Law Review’s independent status in an emailed statement and wrote that the Law School “is committed to ensuring that the programs and activities it oversees are in compliance with all applicable laws and to investigating any credibly alleged violations.”

He also referred The Crimson to a lawsuit brought in 2018 claiming the Law Review violated anti discrimination law in its selection of articles and members, which was dismissed by the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts.

The Harvard Law Review did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Free Beacon’s Friday article quickly gained public attention — including from billionaire Trump ally Elon Musk, who reposted it on social media. On Friday evening, first-year students at HLS received a pair of emails apparently connected to the allegations in the article — one threatening a lawsuit, the other encouraging applicants for the Law Review to pretend to identify as racial and sexual minorities to increase their odds of acceptance to the journal.

The sender of the emails claimed to represent the organization — Faculty, Alumni, & Students Opposed to Racial Preferences — that sued the Law Review in 2018.

Harvard Law School Dean of Students Stephen L. Ball condemned the emails as “disturbing” and “hateful” in a Saturday email to the HLS student body.

—Staff writer Hugo C. Chiasson can be reached at hugo.chiasson@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @HugoChiassonn.

—Staff writer Sebastian B. Connolly can be reached at sebastian.connolly@thecrimson.com and on X @SebastianC4784.