Trump has threatened to withhold federal funding from those institutions over the issues. Rights advocates have condemned what they call an assault on free speech and academic freedom.

US law requires universities to report donations from foreign sources exceeding $250,000 in a year.

In a letter to Harvard President Alan Garber, the US Department of Education said Harvard made “incomplete and inaccurate” disclosures between 2014 and 2019.

“Today’s records request is the Trump administration’s first step to ensure Harvard is not being manipulated by, or doing the bidding of, foreign entities,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement. The letter cited no evidence to show that was happening.

Harvard said it has filed such reports for decades “as part of its ongoing compliance with the law.”