The Department of Justice has ended its investigation into Yale professor and stem cell pioneer Haifan Lin, Lin’s lawyer tells Endpoints News.
In an emailed statement, lawyer Abraham Rein said DoJ informed him that it had “discontinued” the probe into Lin. The investigation was originally opened in July 2020 after the NIH disputed the accuracy of information Lin and other faculty provided over “outside support” to those who received agency grants, the Yale Daily News previously reported.
Rein’s statement read in full:
On March 30, 2022, representatives of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) informed Abe Rein, Principal, Post & Schell, P.C. and counsel for Dr. Haifan Lin, that the DOJ has discontinued its investigation of Dr. Lin and that the DOJ has so informed the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The findings of the investigation, if any, and reasons for the probe’s discontinuation were not immediately clear. Endpoints has reached out to DoJ and NIH for comment.
DoJ’s inquiry ultimately resulted in Lin’s suspension at Yale earlier this month. Critics, including dozens of Yale faculty, decried the move as “deeply un-American” because the university placed Lin on administrative leave before DoJ concluded its investigation.
The timing of the DoJ probe also drew concerns that Lin was being targeted as part of the Trump administration’s “China Initiative,” set up to stop the purported theft of American intellectual property by the Chinese government. Civil rights activists had slammed the move, saying it created a climate of fear and chilled scientific research.
Last month, President Biden announced his DoJ would drop the “China Initiative” name and change several policies, but continue to investigate possible espionage.
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