From October 06, 2022 post.
Hundreds of FBI employees under investigation for sexual misconduct quit their jobs before facing discipline from 2004-2020, according to internal Justice Department records obtained by Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). The records, provided via whistleblower disclosures, also illuminate concerns that senior officials are facing lighter penalties than line employees for similar misconduct, and call into question the effectiveness of the FBI’s response to sexual misconduct by its employees.
The first document, produced by the Justice Department’s Office of Disciplinary Appeals and titled “Retirements and Resignations During Unwelcome Sexual Conduct Adjudications” found that from 2004 to December 23, 2020:
“665 FBI employees, including 45 [Senior Executive Service (SES)]-level employees have retired or resigned following an FBI or [Justice Department Office of Inspector General (OIG)] investigation into alleged misconduct, but prior to [the Office of Professional Responsibility’s (OPR)] issuance of a final disciplinary letter.”
The data doesn’t include resignations or retirements that occurred prior to the initiation of or during an ongoing misconduct investigation, so the actual number of employees who departed the FBI following allegations of sexual misconduct could be much higher. This report was generated following a 2020 Associated Press article revealing sexual misconduct in FBI’s senior ranks.
The second document, produced this year by the Justice Department and titled “Inconsistent Adjudication of Non-Consensual Sexual Misconduct” analyzes the implementation of FBI Director Wray’s “zero tolerance” directive from December 2020, which sought to address sexual misconduct at the FBI. The document notes that:
“[r]ecent sexual misconduct cases appear to show OPR’s application of this directive has resulted in seemingly random penalties and disparate treatment, potentially compromising the consistency, fairness, and due process of the FBI’s disciplinary system.”
This document details the use of various codes to classify sexual misconduct by employees, resulting in disparate penalties for similar misconduct. The document finds that:
“The only discernable pattern appears to be that higher-graded employees, especially supervisors, are more likely to have their sexual misconduct case adjudicated under Offense Code 5.22, and therefore subjected to lesser penalties; whereas, lower-graded employees are seemingly more likely to be adjudicated under Offense Code 5.20, and have a statistically greater likelihood of being dismissed for their sexual misconduct. This may give the appearance the FBI is not holding its supervisors accountable for unwelcome sexual conduct.”
The document also cites case law, warning that Wray’s directive may not serve as sufficient notice of the FBI’s intent to increase penalties.
“Simply put, these two documents show a systemic failure within the Justice Department and FBI to protect female employees from sexual harassment and sexual misconduct in the workplace and a failure to sufficiently punish employees for that same misconduct. FBI employees should not have to suffer under daily abuse and misconduct by their colleagues and supervisors. Congress has an obligation to perform an objective and independent review of the Justice Department’s and FBI’s failures and determine the accuracy of the data contained in the documents so that the American people know and understand what, if any, changes have been made to solve these significant problems,” Grassley wrote in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, and Director Wray.
Grassley maintains copies of each document, but is not publicly releasing them in order to protect against unlawful whistleblower retaliation.
Original source can be found here
