For some attorneys general, when it comes to targeting and prosecuting politically unpopular businesses (oil companies, healthcare providers, drug companies, etc.), anything goes. And justice is not their goal. Their goal is to cripple, bleed, bankrupt businesses they don’t like.
Their playbook is simple: Make stuff up, fake documents, fake witnesses, whatever will work; conduct massive investigations through incessant demands for documents, interrogatories, depositions; and engage in as much harassment as possible. Then create some sort of a show trial.
Such is the case with the Colorado AG’s assault on CollegeAmerica, a group of colleges that are part of a sector of higher education loathed by leftists: private career (generally, for-profit) colleges.
The trial conducted against CollegeAmerica in Colorado, led by Libby DeBlasio Webster, was intended to bleed the company’s time and money, cripple it, and, if possible, close it down. If she loses (and she probably will), she’ll appeal. And if she loses the appeal, she will have done what she wanted to do anyway: harass the college, its managers, and staff; deplete its resources, time, and money; and cripple or bankrupt it. She has done this repeatedly with other colleges. It appears to be her purpose in life.
These malicious activities are part of a political, media, and legal campaign over the past (almost) ten years by leftist activists, politicians, and foundations to stigmatize and run out of business private career colleges. This campaign has led the public to believe that for-profit education is ineffective, corrupt, and should be banned. Ask anyone today what they think of for-profit private education, and you’re likely to hear in their reply results of this destructive campaign. It has harmed the reputation of an entire sector of private education, it has destroyed or almost destroyed many colleges, and it has caused grave harm to students.
But the toll of this destruction—including the toll on students—doesn’t matter to the destroyers. Why is clear. They believe profit is evil and that all colleges should be “free,” which is the fantasy they’re working toward. They also seek to protect their own beloved community colleges, which are producing appalling results.
For a detailed breakdown of the attack on CollegeAmerica—and an indication of the Colorado AG’s tactics against private career colleges in general—read “The Colorado Attorney General’s Assault on CollegeAmerica,” published by Career Education Review. (Or for a quick indication, read the Executive Summary.) But be prepared. This is genuine hatred of the good for being good.