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Home News Watchdog Groups Sue US Government Over Qatar’s University Funding

Watchdog Groups Sue US Government Over Qatar’s University Funding

by Celia

Watchdog organizations are taking legal action against the US government to uncover details about Qatar’s financial influence on American universities. The Zachor Legal Institute and Judicial Watch have filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the US Department of Education, seeking records related to Qatar’s funding and operations at five prestigious US universities: Georgetown, Northwestern, Cornell, Harvard, and the University of Michigan.

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This legal move follows Texas A&M University’s decision in February 2024 to close its Qatar campus after a previous lawsuit revealed nearly $500 million in funding from Qatar, a country known for hosting Hamas leaders. According to a February 2024 report, Qatar has provided or contracted approximately $6 billion to American universities since 2007. Critics argue that this significant financial involvement gives Qatar undue influence over both US political discourse and academic institutions.

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Marc Greendorfer, president of the Zachor Legal Institute, expressed frustration over the lack of transparency regarding Qatar’s funding. “We were disappointed with the opacity and obstruction of the prior administration, which seemed to prevent the American people from knowing what terror-supporting foreign actors have been doing in our schools,” Greendorfer said. He expressed optimism that the new legal action will bring more clarity.

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Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, called on the Trump Education Department to “expose the details of this foreign influence operation as soon as possible.” He criticized the previous administration for failing to address what he described as “Qatari government funds manipulating American universities.”

The lawsuit was prompted by the Department of Education’s failure to respond to a detailed FOIA request submitted by the Zachor Legal Institute in March 2024. The request sought documents, including inquiries, reports, and memoranda, related to Qatar’s involvement with several university programs, such as Georgetown’s Doha campus and its Center for Contemporary Arab Studies in Washington.

This increased scrutiny of Qatar’s academic influence is part of a broader pattern of concerns about the nation’s international activities. In March 2024, a major corruption scandal known as “Qatargate” emerged in Europe, involving allegations of $4.3 million in bribes to European Union officials to influence policy decisions in Qatar’s favor.

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