About: David Halperin
Twitter: @DaHalperin
Bio: David Halperin is the co-founder and editor of Republic Report. Halperin, a self-employed lawyer based in Washington DC, engages in public advocacy, investigative work, and legal representation on a wide range of issues, including higher education, climate change, democracy, corruption, open government, and national security. He also advises organizations and companies on strategy, policy, communications, and legal matters. He is of counsel to Public.Resource.org, a non-profit focused on making legal and government materials available for free to the public.
Halperin’s investigative and advocacy work on predatory for-profit colleges since 2010 has spurred reforms in policy and regulations, triggered law enforcement investigations, and led to the closure of numerous deceptive schools.
Halperin was from 2004 until 2012 the founding director of Campus Progress and senior vice president at the Center for American Progress. Before that, he was: senior policy advisor for Howard Dean’s 2004 presidential campaign; founding executive director of the American Constitution Society; White House speechwriter and special assistant for national security affairs to President Clinton; co-founder of the Internet company Progressive Networks (now called RealNetworks); counsel to the Senate Intelligence Committee; law clerk to U.S. District Judge Gerhard A. Gesell (D.D.C.); research assistant to Robert S. McNamara; and research analyst at the Arms Control Association.
Halperin has represented clients in the U.S. Supreme Court and various state and federal courts. Among many other efforts, Halperin helped represent Greenpeace in an unprecedented 2004 Miami criminal jury trial over protest activity, resulting in a directed verdict of acquittal; aided climate groups facing investigation by the House Science Committee during 2015-16; and represented Public Resource in landmark copyright litigation from 2012 to 2024 over efforts to make federal regulations publicly available online without charge.
Halperin writes at Republic Report, and his articles also have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, The Nation, Politico, Slate, Foreign Policy, and other outlets. In recent years he has testified before the House Oversight Committee and at several federal agencies, and he has spoken at major conferences and events across the country. Halperin has served since 2007 on the board of directors of Public Citizen.
Halperin graduated from Yale College and Yale Law School.
Advisory Panel Ratifies Education Dept.’s Weak Decision on Accreditor’s Failed Oversight of Corrupt College
At its meeting today, NACIQI, the U.S. Department of Education’s outside advisory committee on accreditation policy, voted 12-2, after a debate, to endorse the Department staff recommendation of a 29-month renewal of recognition for accreditor Council on Occupational Education (COE). The opposing votes came from NACIQI vice chair Zakiya Smith Ellis, who was formerly
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Accreditor COE Approved Corrupt Schools. There Should Be Consequences.
Today I’m scheduled to present brief comments (3 minutes max allowed) at a meeting of NACIQI, the U.S. Department of Education’s advisory committee charged with reviewing the performance of the private accrediting agencies that oversee quality at colleges and universities. Here’s what I plan to say: In April 2020, I wrote an article about a
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Trump: Who Did An Incredible Job vs. Who Did A Horrible Job
“I’ve built a lot of buildings, and Black workers are great workers. They’ve done an incredible job,” said absurd ex-president Donald J. Trump, speaking to a group of Black Republicans in South Carolina on Friday. I don’t know if you have noticed, but a lot of people, in Trump’s accounting, have done An Incredible Job. Often
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Letter Details Idaho Lawmakers’ Case Against U of Phoenix Deal
This article was written by Kevin Richert and originally posted on IdahoEdNews.org on February 23, 2024. Kevin Richert is a senior reporter and blogger at Idaho Education News. Republished by permission. Here is the letter described in the article. Lawmakers should take “appropriate legal action” against the proposed University of Phoenix acquisition, an attorney for
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Appeals Court Affirms $21M Penalty for Scams by Ashford U (aka UAGC)
The California Court of Appeal on Tuesday upheld $21 million in penalties against for-profit Ashford University, after a state judge found in 2022, following a trial, that the school had systematically deceived prospective students about matters including the costs of attendance, the value of Ashford degrees, and the transferability of credits. The appeals court affirmed
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Donald Trump Is A Criminal – All the Receipts (So Far)
Business fraud, real estate fraud, charity fraud, education fraud, tax fraud, election fraud, sedition, government corruption, classified document theft, obstruction of justice, sexual assault, conspiracy to overturn the lawful results of the 2020 election, and more. Donald J. Trump of Palm Beach, Florida, is a criminal. Here is the evidence, so far. November 2016: Donald
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For-Profit Career College of Northern Nevada Abruptly Shuts Down
Career College of Northern Nevada (CCNN) abruptly closed on Friday, replacing its website with a closure notice and literally locking students out of the building. The company that owns the Sparks, Nevada-based for-profit school also declared bankruptcy on Friday. In the website notice, the school directs students to a U.S. Department of Education web page that
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The Business of America is Debt
In the shoe department at Belk’s department store yesterday, a familiar thing: The sales guy was trying to convince us to get a Belk’s credit card, saying we would get a big discount on the shoes. We got to talking, and he mentioned that he was taking his first airplane flight ever in a couple
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