In a fitting act of investigative journalism, CNN on Tuesday aired a segment in which host Wolf Blitzer, along with senior reporter and Duke University alumna Betsy Klein, expressed surprise over the Trump administration's investigation into the school—and failed to mention the Washington Free Beacon reporting that prompted it.

Blitzer first read from a Trump administration letter to Duke that said the investigation was "based on recent reporting alleging that Duke University discriminates on the basis of race, color, and/or national origin." Rather than reference that reporting, Blitzer turned to Klein to ask how the investigation came about. She described it as a "new front in the Trump administration's battle with elite higher education" and suggested it came out of left field.

"I've been covering this for several months now, Duke really hasn't been on the radar as one of the schools the Trump administration has been targeting until now," she said. "You went to Duke University, so you know that school. You know it very well," Blitzer responded. "Yes, a big Blue Devil fan, but watching this quite closely along with many fellow alumni," said Klein.

Readers of the Free Beacon are likely more familiar with the investigation, which Free Beacon reporter Aaron Sibarium first reported on Monday. It targets both Duke's flagship law review, the Duke Law Journal, as well as Duke Medical School. The Free Beacon reported on racial discrimination at both institutions.

At the law journal, internal documents reported by the Free Beacon in June showed that prospective editors were awarded extra points for mentioning race and gender in the personal statement portions of their applications. Candidates could earn up to 10 points for discussing their "membership in an underrepresented group," according to the grading rubric for the essays, and an additional 3-5 points for holding "a leadership position in an affinity group."

The medical school, meanwhile, adopted race-based promotion guidelines—titled "Appointment, Promotion and Tenure Framework for Scholarship in Justice, Equity, Diversity, Antiracism and Inclusion"—that reward doctors for recruiting and mentoring "BIPOC faculty" and "targeting specific groups of people," as the Free Beacon reported in July. At the time, attorneys who reviewed the guidelines said they seemed designed to encourage unlawful race discrimination and would likely inspire the federal government to make Duke its next target.

Duke has not publicly responded to the investigation.