In a new letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray, U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin requested a private briefing about last week's damning report on the Bureau's handling of its investigation of Larry Nassar.
A report released by the Department of Justice's Inspector General slammed the FBI's handling of the investigation, saying that agents in the Indianapolis field office failed to take allegations against Nassar seriously, showed "extremely poor judgement" once the investigation began and even lied to oversight authorities about the handling of the investigation.
As the Representative for Michigan State and many of the survivors and their families, Slotkin emphasized the need for reforms in how authorities investigate allegations of sexual assault to prevent similar failures in the future.
"Some of the most impactful conversations I've had in my district since being elected in 2018 have been with the survivors of Larry Nassar's sexual abuse," Slotkin wrote in the letter. "These are brave young women who have demonstrated remarkable courage and poise despite federal law enforcement failing them. As their representative, I want to be able to face my constituents with a straight face and say that the FBI will never again sweep sexual assault allegations under the rug."
What they're saying:
Lansing State Journal: Slotkin asks for FBI briefing on handling of sex assault cases after damning Nassar report
- U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin has asked the Federal Bureau of Investigation to hold a briefing on a report that said its Indianapolis office failed to investigate reports of Larry Nassar's sexual abuse in 2015.
- The Department of Justice Inspector General report, which was released Wednesday, detailed the failures of the Indianapolis FBI office to properly and promptly investigate and respond to the reports about Nassar, which came a year before an Indianapolis Star investigation publicly exposed Nassar's crimes in September 2016.
- Slotkin expects the handling of sexual assault cases isn't only a problem in Indianapolis, she said, adding that there doesn't seem to be clear rules on how the FBI should handle such cases.
- "There seemed to be a theme," Slotkin said. "They seemed befuddled on what to do, and in no hurry to respond. It dragged on, there was no communication, no visibility for the victims."
- She wants to know what the new process will be for ensuring sexual assault cases get handed off to the relevant state and local law enforcement agencies and other FBI field offices.
Original source can be found here.
