Grassley on Opposition to Garcetti Nomination

 

I’d like to express my strong opposition to the nomination of Eric Garcetti to be Ambassador to the Republic of India.

 

I’m compelled to vote against Mayor Garcetti due to the serious allegations that he enabled sexual harassment and racism to run rampant in the Los Angeles Mayor’s office.

 

During my career, I’ve prioritized protecting victims of sexual harassment and abuse. In 2005, I cosponsored the Violence Against Women Act. That bill provides vital aid to the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women and to law enforcement to protect victims of sexual harassment and abuse. During this Congress, I’ve cosponsored bills introduced by Senator Gillibrand to protect and defend victims of sexual harassment and sexual misconduct. I’ve cosponsored resolutions introduced by Senator Feinstein to raise awareness of sexual assault. These include the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021, the Military Justice Improvement and Increasing Prevention Act of 2021, the Speak Out Act, the Campus Accountability and Safety Act, and a resolution supporting the goals and ideals of National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month.

 

I’ve also pressed the FBI and DHS for more transparency and accountability on their handling of sexual misconduct in the workplace. Moving into next Congress, Senator Durbin and I’ve agreed to jointly pursue these inquiries.

 

With respect to Mayor Garcetti, several credible whistleblowers approached my office about concerning allegations that he was aware of and enabled his deputy chief of staff, Rick Jacobs, to sexually harass several employees within the mayor’s office. These men and women alleged that Rick Jacobs engaged in inappropriate physical contact without their consent. They alleged that Rick Jacobs made crude sexual remarks and gestures towards staff and others.  They alleged that he made blatantly racist remarks towards Asians and other minorities. 

 

These allegations have also been publicly reported by the Los Angeles Times. Text messages made public by the Los Angeles Times indicate that these incidents were common knowledge among Garcetti’s staff. One picture that’s been made public shows Jacobs inappropriately touching an individual next to him.  In the picture, Mayor Garcetti is standing on the other side of Jacobs.  For Mayor Garcetti to claim he didn’t know what was going on defies reason.

 

There’s also a pending lawsuit by a Los Angeles Police officer against the City of Los Angeles as a result of this type of disgraceful behavior. The kinds of behavior mentioned in the lawsuit include Jacobs subjecting the police officer to unwanted hugs, shoulder massages and crude sexual language.

 

In total, my office identified over 19 individuals who’ve either witnessed Jacobs’ behavior or were the victims of it.  So who are these brave and courageous individuals who made these allegations? Are they Republican operatives? No. They’re his former Communications Director, senior staffers, junior staffers, businessmen, civic leaders, and a Los Angeles Police Department officer assigned to protect him.

           

Despite attempts by Mayor Garcetti and the Biden Administration to frame complaints against him as a political hit job, some of the individuals who’ve come forward and shed light on the misconduct are from Mayor Garcetti’s own staff.

 

How hypocritical is it for this Administration to encourage victims of sexual harassment to speak out yet when they do so against a powerful ally of Joe Biden, they’re ignored. And they’ve been ignored in this matter even after providing evidence of harassment including photographs and text messages. When convenient, Democrats have supported claims of harassment with far less.

 

Just last week, President Biden signed into law a bill sponsored by Senator Gillibrand that I co-sponsored which enables survivors to speak out about workplace sexual assault and harassment.  Continuing to push this nominee after signing that bill into law is the very definition of tone deafness. Unfortunately, the Biden Administration is sending a message to victims of sexual harassment in the workplace that they’ll only be believed when politically convenient. As a result, the Biden Administration and all those who support this nomination have no credibility when it comes to protecting victims of sexual harassment.

 

I conducted a thorough investigation of the allegations irrespective of partisan politics. The evidence is clear that Jacobs engaged in blatant sexual misconduct and racist behavior for years.  The evidence is clear that Mayor Garcetti either had direct knowledge of it or chose willful ignorance as a defense.

 

Nobody is that brazen to engage in this type of outrageous behavior against other people unless they know that they have a powerful enabler protecting them.  Based on the facts and the evidence, that enabler is Mayor Eric Garcetti.

 

To defend himself, Mayor Garcetti has pointed to a report which inconceivably purports to clear Jacobs of any wrongdoing. The report was conducted by a law firm hired and paid for by the city of Los Angeles. Mayor Garcetti and the city of Los Angeles would be liable if the report concluded sexual harassment occurred.  The report was also delivered to the city of Los Angeles under Attorney Client privilege, apparently in the hope that no one outside the city would ever see it. 

 

The report failed to interview multiple first hand witnesses.  The interviews weren’t taken under penalty of perjury.  The report focused exclusively on allegations of sexual harassment made by the Los Angeles Police Department officer and failed to give due weight to other witnesses. For example, the report includes an interview with Jacobs in which he admits to using racist language, kissing, hugging, and squeezing people’s shoulders. The report also identifies the individual in the lewd photo I mentioned earlier. The report says that the individual stated that Jacob’s actions weren’t funny and embarrassed that person. That makes it clear nonconsensual physical contact occurred.  It’s evidence that sexual harassment occurred.  Oddly, the report makes no attempt to reconcile how it can conclude there was no sexual harassment after clearly describing sexual harassment throughout. 

 

These aren’t acts of transparency.  These are acts to sweep this whole matter under the rug.

 

Although Mayor Garcetti may be indifferent to the allegations and the actions of his deputy Chief of Staff, my colleagues and I have a duty to take such concerning allegations seriously. Whether here in the United States or abroad, there’s no place for sexual misconduct or racism. Mayor Garcetti had countless opportunities over the years to stand up for victims by removing his deputy Chief of Staff, but he failed to do so.

 

These fundamental failures make Mayor Garcetti incompatible with the office that he seeks.  Therefore, I can’t in good conscience vote for him.  I strongly encourage my colleagues to review the evidence found in my investigative report, as well as in the press.  The facts and the evidence compel me to vote no, and I hope my colleagues will join me in doing the same.