Harvard said on Saturday the Trump administration was "doubling down" on far-reaching demands on the university despite a published report that government officials had sent a letter spelling out those demands without authorization.
The letter from government lawyers, received by Harvard on April 11, was sent before senior officials of US President Donald Trump's administration could approve it or give the go-ahead for its release, the New York Times reported late on Friday, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.
Three days after that letter arrived, Harvard rejected numerous demands that it said would amount to the school giving up control over hiring, admissions and instruction to the government.
The Trump administration subsequently froze $2.3 billion in funding to Harvard and threatened to strip Harvard of its tax-exempt status and take away its ability to enroll foreign students. It also demanded information on the university's foreign ties, students and faculty.