Obama’s DOJ Busted With Both Hands in The Harassment Cookie Jar
By Brian Thomas
The Justice Department’s inspector general’s office says that under the Obama Administration, the department suffered “systemic” problems regarding dismissal of sexual harassment complaints.
As the #MeToo movement picks up steam, and sexual misconduct becomes increasingly highlighted in high-profile cases, it seems one arena of sexual misconduct has been largely overlooked.
Obama’s Justice Department and then-Attorneys General Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch overlooked and dismissed several cases of sexual harassment and misconduct under their watch.
CNN reports:
The inspector general’s office said it published summaries of 19 “substantiated allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct” that occurred from fiscal year 2012 through fiscal year 2016. In the memorandum, the watchdog warned that “without strong action from the department to ensure that DOJ employees meet the highest standards of conduct and accountability, the systemic issues we identified in our work may continue.”
The office released other reports which largely detail concerns about handling of allegations but don’t report large numbers of instances of sexual misconduct across Justice Department components.
For example, a May 2017 report posted to the inspector general’s website finds “few reported allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct in the Civil Division from FY 2011 through the first two quarters of FY 2016,” though the office “identified significant weaknesses in the Civil Division’s tracking, reporting and investigating of the 11 sexual harassment and misconduct allegations that we reviewed.”
Further, a Washington Post article published Tuesday highlighted many problems with the lack of punishment for this harassment. But of course, while WaPo condemned the Justice Department for mishandling reports of sexual harassment, it entirely ignored just who failed the victims by letting the perpetrators off easy.
The Washington Post reports:
The cases examined by the IG’s office include a U.S. attorney who had a sexual relationship with a subordinate and sent harassing texts and emails when it ended; a Civil Division lawyer who groped the breasts and buttocks of two female trial attorneys; and a chief deputy U.S. marshal who had sex with “approximately” nine women on multiple occasions in his U.S. Marshals Service office, according to investigative reports obtained by The Washington Post under a Freedom of Information Act request.
“We’re talking about presidential appointees, political appointees, FBI special agents in charge, U.S. attorneys, wardens, a chief deputy U.S. marshal, a U.S. marshal assistant director, a deputy assistant attorney general,” Justice Department Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz said in an interview.
The Justice Department apparently avoided strong action against perpetrators of sexual harassment. One DOJ attorney was given a simple reprimand, with no further punishment, for stalking before receiving a “special commendation” award.
According to a DOJ press release, Loretta Lynch claimed in 2015 that the Justice Department was “doing everything it can” to “strengthen the Justice System’s Response to Sexual Assault.”
“The Department of Justice is committed to doing everything it can to help prevent, investigate and prosecute these horrendous crimes,” Lynch said, “including working to ensure that our greatest partners in this effort, the state and local law enforcement officers on whom we all rely, have the tools, training and resources they need to fairly and effectively address allegations of sexual assault and domestic violence.”
Perhaps Lynch should have started by actually preventing, investigating, and prosecuting incidents at the DOJ.
The Daily Caller reports:
One woman, who was allegedly the victim of repeated groping and “sexually charged comments” became so distressed by her harasser that she “was terrified I was going to get in the elevator and he would be in there.”
On top of complete negligence in the handling of the complaint, the DOJ allowed “potential criminal assault violations,” according to the IG report. Despite these serious allegations, the IG’s office “found no evidence in the case file that a referral was made to the [Inspector General] or any other law enforcement entity.”
Theodore Atkinson, who worked in the DOJ as an attorney in the Office of Immigration Litigation under Holder according to his LinkedIn, admitted to stalking a female coworker, hacking into her personal email account and constructing a “fictitious online profile to entice her,” the IG wrote. For his behavior, Atkinson simply received a “written reprimand and reduction in title,” with no suspension or pay cut.
Atkinson was, however, recently given a “Special Commendation Award from the Civil Division.”
Several other incidents like Atkinson’s dismissal were highlighted by the IG.
It’s appropriate that the IG said “people’s attitudes have to change,” but will anyone who served in Obama’s Justice Department, who let these creeps off the hook, actually face repercussions for their neglect?
If a Justice Department can’t stand for justice in its own ranks, then what good is it?
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