(Ken Silva, Headline USA) A senior FBI official sexually harassed a subordinate employee and then retired amidst an investigation into the alleged conduct, according to a report last week from the Justice Department’s Inspector General.
“The senior official violated the Department’s zero tolerance policy on harassment by making five inappropriate comments to the subordinate employee. None of the allegations involved unwelcome touching, and the independent investigation did not find that any of the substantiated conduct was sexual in nature,” the DOJ-IG stated.
“The independent investigation also concluded that the same comments made by the senior official did not adhere to FBI policy because they were unprofessional or constituted statements that did not recognize the subordinate employee’s dignity in the workplace.”
The DOJ-IG also disclosed in its report that it recused itself from the investigation and allowed another Office of Inspector General handle the probe—something that’s not the norm for internal sexual harassment investigations.
The senior FBI official wasn’t named.
The DOJ-IG said it provided its report on the matter to the FBI for “appropriate action.”
The DOJ-IG report is the latest in a series of revelations about sexual misconduct within the FBI.
A Culture of Sexual Misconduct
Last month, the DOJ-IG released a similar report about an FBI assistant section chief who had an “inappropriate relationship” with a subordinate.
According to the DOJ-IG, the unnamed FBI official “accompanied the subordinate to multiple drinking establishments, including a strip club; drank excessively with the subordinate; and engaged in sexual contact with the subordinate in a rideshare vehicle.”
The month before that, the DOJ-IG released yet another report about a now-retired FBI special agent in charge, or SAC, who arranged to have his or her spouse sit on a committee and receive a cash award as a result.
That investigation found that the SAC indeed violated federal ethics regulations and related FBI policies by directing a subordinate to complete the paperwork necessary for the spouse to receive the award.
The SAC retired before the DOJ-IG could compel the official to be interviewed. The report doesn’t state whether the DOJ-IG compelled the spouse to be interviewed.
Despite finding numerous instances of illegal activity in the FBI, the DOJ-IG’s investigations have often not led to prosecutions.
For instance, declined to prosecute a retired senior FBI official who solicited prostitutes from a foreign national’s massage parlor while he was still working for the bureau, according to a report released last October.
That OIG report came nearly two years after the OIG released a related report, which found that four FBI officials had sex with prostitutes while posted overseas, while a fifth also tried to—and all but one “lacked candor” about it during interviews and lie-detector test.
It was also alleged that one of the FBI officials provided another of the officials a package containing approximately 100 white pills to deliver to a foreign law enforcement officer.
According to that December 2021 report, two FBI officials resigned, two retired, and one was removed—all while the OIG’s investigation was ongoing.
The OIG’s December 2021 report said it referred the findings to the FBI for “appropriate action,” but nothing public has been revealed about the matter since then.
Meanwhile, the DOJ continues to prosecute the leading Republican presidential candidate, journalists, peaceful protestors and other non-violent dissidents—underscoring the widespread complaints about the U.S. having a two-tiered justice system.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
