12-23-2020
The Associated Press (AP) published a report revealing that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) failed to discipline individuals accused of sexual harassment on multiple occasions. The AP uncovered “at least six sexual misconduct allegations involving senior FBI officials over the past five years” where the FBI did not impose any sanctions on the accused. Two of these individuals brought claims just this month. Irrespective of the severity of the allegations, the FBI allowed these male officials to leave quietly, without facing any consequences for the alleged behavior. In one of the recent lawsuits, a former FBI analyst described a supervisory FBI agent licking her face and groping her at a party. In the other recent lawsuit, a female agent accused a male FBI agent of having “imprisoned, tortured, harassed, blackmailed, stalked, and manipulated” her into having “non-consensual sexual encounters.” The women avoided disclosing their full names out of fear of repercussions in court and the press. AP noted that its report does not include the many high-level officials who had relationships with subordinate females. The Office of the Inspector General issued a report recently focused on these very relationships. In response to the AP report, the FBI issued a statement asserting it “maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward sexual harassment.” The agency also asserted that any claims result in the supervisors being removed while it investigates the complaints.