Michael Barbaro

And that Friday comes and it goes and no letter comes. And then in the middle of the night, Harvard receives a letter from the administration.

The letter is not just what the administration wants Harvard to do, but it's a series of demands about how Harvard would operate that someone on the Harvard side told me essentially amounts to appointing Stephen Miller the chancellor of Harvard.

The letter is not just what the administration wants Harvard to do, but it's a series of demands about how Harvard would operate that someone on the Harvard side told me essentially amounts to appointing Stephen Miller the chancellor of Harvard.

It means that Harvard would have to give up an enormous amount of power to the Trump administration to allow it to see into its admissions, its hiring, what it teaches, the types of people who teach it. The demands are extraordinary.

It means that Harvard would have to give up an enormous amount of power to the Trump administration to allow it to see into its admissions, its hiring, what it teaches, the types of people who teach it. The demands are extraordinary.

It would do more than just fly in the face of academic freedom. It would have given the federal government an arm in Harvard's day-to-day operations that go far beyond anything we've seen at a private education university like Harvard.

It would do more than just fly in the face of academic freedom. It would have given the federal government an arm in Harvard's day-to-day operations that go far beyond anything we've seen at a private education university like Harvard.

So Harvard makes an extraordinary decision. Over that weekend, they decide that the demands from the Trump administration are so great that they have no choice but to publicly rebuff this and take on Trump and stand up for themselves.

So Harvard makes an extraordinary decision. Over that weekend, they decide that the demands from the Trump administration are so great that they have no choice but to publicly rebuff this and take on Trump and stand up for themselves.

And it's vastly different than a series of top law firms in the country who were also going in to the Oval Office to make deals with Trump to head off executive orders against them. So that Monday, without going back to the administration, Harvard puts out a letter that essentially says there is no way we are going along with any of this.

And it's vastly different than a series of top law firms in the country who were also going in to the Oval Office to make deals with Trump to head off executive orders against them. So that Monday, without going back to the administration, Harvard puts out a letter that essentially says there is no way we are going along with any of this.

We are putting our foot down and we are going to do whatever we need to do to protect our independence. Along with putting out their letter and a statement from Harvard's president, Harvard puts out a copy of the letter that the administration had sent them that Friday night.

We are putting our foot down and we are going to do whatever we need to do to protect our independence. Along with putting out their letter and a statement from Harvard's president, Harvard puts out a copy of the letter that the administration had sent them that Friday night.

They want the world to see, look at how crazy these demands are. Look at this letter and you can see why we decided we had no choice but to fight. And almost immediately after Harvard puts all of this out, Harvard's lawyers receive a frantic call from a lawyer in the Trump administration who they had been negotiating with.

They want the world to see, look at how crazy these demands are. Look at this letter and you can see why we decided we had no choice but to fight. And almost immediately after Harvard puts all of this out, Harvard's lawyers receive a frantic call from a lawyer in the Trump administration who they had been negotiating with.

He says, that letter that you guys got on Friday, that now is like the center of the whole issue for why Harvard has decided to take on the Trump administration, that letter wasn't supposed to be sent out.

He says, that letter that you guys got on Friday, that now is like the center of the whole issue for why Harvard has decided to take on the Trump administration, that letter wasn't supposed to be sent out.

It's one of the great mysteries of the Harvard story. Did they mean to send the letter? Was the wrong letter sent? Was it sent at the wrong time? Or did the administration overplay their hand? Did they send a letter that they thought was negotiation? but was just so extreme and so beyond the pale that Harvard thought they had no choice but to fight.

It's one of the great mysteries of the Harvard story. Did they mean to send the letter? Was the wrong letter sent? Was it sent at the wrong time? Or did the administration overplay their hand? Did they send a letter that they thought was negotiation? but was just so extreme and so beyond the pale that Harvard thought they had no choice but to fight.

Correct. It's like it would be like if you and I were negotiating and you said to me, Mike, I'll give you 25 cents. And I said, what about 75 cents? And we're going back and forth in good faith. And then all of a sudden I walk in and I'm like, Give me $20. And you're like, what the heck, Mike? You know I only have, like, maybe 50 cents, 75 cents. Like, there's no way I could give you $20.