Baala Shakya, Staff Photographer

In the three weeks before Yale Law School’s associate research scholar Helyeh Doutaghi’s employment termination, Yale’s and Doutaghi’s attorneys sparred over email, debating procedure and questions relating to the allegations.

On March 28, the Law School terminated Doutaghi’s contract, citing her “refusal to cooperate” with the investigation into allegations that she is a member of the Samidoun Network, a designated terrorist organization in Canada and a sanctioned “sham charity” in the United States. 

On April 1, Doutaghi and her lawyer released statements on X alleging that the Law School’s accusations of refusal to cooperate were “false.” 

A series of emails obtained by the News show a back and forth with Yale over the nature of questioning and the party conducting it. Yale requested a live interview, either in person or over Zoom, conducted by an outside counsel. In response, Doutaghi’s attorney, Eric Lee, asked to answer questions in writing and asked for confidentiality for Doutaghi’s responses out of concerns for her safety.

When reached for comment by the News, Lee wrote that Wiggins and Dana, the firm Yale retained as outside counsel, lists “Israel” as a “service.” Lee wrote that due to these “undisputed facts,” he and Doutaghi did not feel that Wiggin and Dana could be a “neutral arbiter.”

Lee added that Doutaghi was “very clear” that she was prepared to answer questions but Yale “simply declined to accept it.” 

Asked about the email communications, the Law School’s spokesperson wrote that the conditions set by Doutaghi and her attorney were “unreasonable,” such as insisting on responding only to written questions and refusing to meet with Yale’s attorney “simply because they disagreed with his client list.”

“Yale informed Ms. Doutaghi’s attorney that we had full confidence in our counsel’s fairness and impartiality and that all we were seeking were the facts to resolve this matter,” the Law School’s spokesperson wrote. “At no time did we receive any information to alleviate our serious concerns about possible U.S. sanctions violations.”

The Law School spokesperson referred back to a prior statement on Doutaghi’s termination for further information.

Lee and Doutaghi express concerns, Yale requests verbal interview 

Correspondence between Lee and the Law School began on March 4, when the outside counsel from Wiggin and Dana offered a meeting with Lee at 4 p.m. that day. The first email from Yale’s lawyer describes Wiggin and Dana as a law firm that advises the University on “compliance with laws enforced by the Office of Foreign Assets Control.”

According to the emails, Lee and Yale’s external counsel met for a brief phone call, after which Lee requested 24 hours of additional time for Doutaghi to respond as she was fasting for Ramadan.

That same day, at approximately 5:30 p.m., the Law School put Doutaghi on immediate administrative leave.

“The university very much wants to understand the facts from Ms. Doutaghi’s point of view, but in light of the seriousness of this matter, the Dean of Yale Law School, Heather Gerken has deemed an administrative leave a necessary interim action,” reads the email from Yale’s lawyer from that day.

In the same email, Yale’s lawyer wrote that neither Lee nor Doutaghi “provided” the University with any facts that would allow it to assess the allegations reasonably. 

The next day, Lee responded with concerns over Yale removing Doutaghi from her University positions. Lee alleged that Doutaghi was put on immediate administrative leave “without due process,” describing the “Jewish Onliner,” which first reported the allegations, as “illegitimate” and “disreputable.”

In the email, Lee wrote that the “Jewish Onliner” lacks a Wikipedia page and cited an investigation from Haaretz that describes the “Jewish Onliner” as a “Pro-Israel Social Media Bot” powered by artificial intelligence.

The Law School’s official statement says that Yale “independently reviewed source materials,” drawing attention to text on the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network’s website that identified Doutaghi as a member of its organization.

“To be clear, Yale does not take administrative action based on press reports and such an action is never initiated based on a person’s protected speech,” the Law School statement reads.

Lee also mentioned in the email that the publication led Doutaghi to receive hateful and threatening messages.

“Given your actions thus far, we have no reason to believe that the ‘interview’ with [Yale’s external counsel] is being proposed in good faith. We are also investigating the likelihood that this behavior violated Title VII,” Lee’s email reads further. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex and national origin.

In response, Yale’s lawyer stated that the Law School staff had been scheduled to speak with Doutaghi to review the circumstances and the “best approach for proceeding.” Yale’s lawyer wrote that they were informed that Doutaghi did not wish to meet as scheduled after hiring Lee’s services.

Yale’s lawyer further defended the use of relying on outside counsel.

“Because the allegations involved possible U.S. sanctions violations, the university deemed it essential for attorneys with expertise in sanctions-related investigations, to learn the facts and assist the university in evaluating its sanctions compliance,” reads Yale’s response.

In the same email, Yale’s lawyer invited Lee to attend the meeting.

In a follow-up email, Lee stated that Doutaghi didn’t cancel the meeting, but that the Law School’s staff did. Lee then doubled down on asking about the “Jewish Onliner” and whether Yale was aware that this was an “illegitimate source” at the time of requesting an interview.

Yale did not respond to Lee’s email for two weeks. On March 20, Yale’s lawyer reached out to Lee, writing that Yale “still awaits answers from Ms. Doutaghi.” In the email, Yale’s lawyer affirms the request for a meeting between Doutaghi and Yale’s counsel.

“As a Yale employee, Ms. Doutaghi has obligations to the university to answer in good faith the concerns raised regarding U.S. sanctions violations,” Yale’s lawyer wrote.

Yale requested that the information be received by March 27. That deadline was later extended by a day to March 28 at 3 p.m. 

Lee acknowledged receipt of the email later that same day it was sent on March 20. He followed up on March 21, proposing that Doutaghi answer questions in writing from Yale and not from outside counsel. He further asked about the confidentiality of Doutaghi’s responses.

On Monday, March 24, Yale’s lawyer reiterated the need for a live meeting, either in person or on Zoom. The email further affirms faith in Yale’s outside counsel.

“We must be able to ask her questions, consider her answers, and ask her follow up questions in real time,” Yale’s lawyer wrote.

In that same email, Yale’s lawyer added that there is “no point” in discussing confidentiality until Doutaghi makes herself available for a meeting.

On March 28, the final day agreed upon for Doutaghi to respond to allegations, Lee emailed Yale’s lawyer discussing three proposed conditions: that the questions be answered in writing, that the outside counsel does not conduct questioning and that Doutaghi’s answers remain confidential.

Later on that same day, in the last email obtained by the News, Yale’s lawyer wrote that a live interview was necessary and “urged” Doutaghi to meet with the outside counsel before 3 p.m. The email added that the Law School has been clear from the “onset” that a meeting was necessary.

The News learned that Doutaghi’s employment was terminated later that day at 3:46 p.m. Her employment was set to expire in April. 

“As a result of her refusal to cooperate with this investigation, Ms. Doutaghi’s employment with Yale — which was already set to expire this April — has been terminated effective immediately,” the Law School released in a statement issued that day in response to an inquiry by the News. 

Doutaghi began working as an associate research scholar at the Law School in 2023.