Department of Education responds to Liberty University over claims they are trying to tarnish their image

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The Department of Education (ED) on Tuesday responded to Liberty University after the nation’s most influential Christian academic institution accused them of trying to tarnish their image by leaking a Clery Act compliance report to the media.

While Liberty University is undergoing a program review by ED over their Clery Act compliance results, they accused the department of unfair treatment after being hit with an unprecedented fine and a preliminary report was leaked to the Washington Post before they could build a case against it. The preliminary report paints a picture that the university covered up serious sexual assault incidents and underreported campus crime statistics to preserve a clean image.

An ED official replied to Fox News Digital with a statement aimed at Liberty University's accusation. 

"The U.S. Department of Education’s top priority is protecting safety and academic opportunity for all students at institutions of higher education. We monitor and investigate all safety complaints and take our oversight responsibilities to protect students’ wellbeing seriously," the ED official said. "The Department does not comment on pending institutional oversight activities, program reviews, or investigations. When the Department determines that a regulatory sanction is warranted, such a step would be communicated to the institution first before details are shared with the public."

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President Biden with Education Secretary Miguel Cardona.  (Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images | Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The Washington Post published an article on October 3 about the Education Department investigator’s report on the school’s Clery Act compliance, saying it showed the school routinely failed to keep its campus safe, underreporting crime claims and discouraging reports of it in the first place. 

Colleges that participate in federal financial aid programs must keep and disclose crime statistics and other timely information about campus safety. In 2020-2021, Liberty University received $874 million for student loans and grants from the Department o Education.

Officials at the private evangelical university in Virginia deny the claims laid out in the Education Department's findings. Liberty's president worried that the leak of the ED's findings to the media would impact negotiations with the ED and believes someone leaked the report to "poison the well." 

Additionally, the school says it's been threatened with an unprecedented $37.5 million fine, which would be far more than recent fines levied on universities by the Department of Education, such as a $4.5-million one slapped on Michigan State over the Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal.

"The most damaging element of this whole process is the fact that for the first time that any of us are aware, the Department of Education leaked a preliminary report while we are in the process of negotiating with the department about all the advancements that we've made. And so that's the biggest issue," Liberty University President Dr. Dondi E. Costin told Fox News Digital in an interview.

"The leak is intentionally aimed at laying the groundwork for an unprecedented fine and the report is filled with factual errors that the Department has admitted to Liberty in their negotiations," he added. 

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Costin alleged that before they could build a case to the ED before a deadline on June 30 to dispute the findings, the report was leaked.

Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona.  (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein)

Liberty University is midway through an appeal process to lower the potential fine. 

According to the Washington Post, anonymous sources revealed that Liberty University violated the Clery Act due to "a fundamental lack of administrative ability to keep the campus safe."

"It found the school did not adequately take complaints of crimes, produce incident reports, warn the campus of emergencies and threats to safety, advise crime victims of their rights or handle the data needed for crime statistics," the Post reported. 

These include "gas leaks, bomb threats, and people credibly accused of repeated acts of sexual violence."

Furthermore, the Post's reporting claimed the ED report lays out serious sexual assault accusations against top brass officials and an athlete. It included that a former president was among the perpetrators who committed a rape. However, no sexual assault perpetrator was identified as the investigation "focused on whether allegations were reported, not whether they could be substantiated."

The Washington Post's logo.  (Oliver Contreras/For The Washington Post via Getty Images)

According to reporting from the Washington Post, "The preliminary report contends that the university failed to adequately maintain the records required for oversight and selectively destroyed or removed some records."

The article states that two people familiar with the conclusions of the department’s investigation confirmed the findings, though they spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the confidential nature of the document.

"We stand by our reporting, and we protect our sources," a Washington Post spokesperson told Fox News Digital when reached for comment.

Co-founded by Christian Right activist and televangelist Jerry Falwell, Sr., Liberty is known for its conservative honor code that governs personal behavior, such as prohibiting premarital sex. It's also had strong ties to former President Trump. Liberty presides over 130,000 students, including in its online programs, and is located in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Fox News' Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

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