Feinstein, Durbin, Grassley Call For Additional Information on FBI’s Response to Nassar Case
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Washington—Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and a bipartisan group of Senate Judiciary Committee members today called on FBI Director Christopher Wray to provide additional details about the FBI’s approach to child sex abuse cases following its failures to properly investigate the Larry Nassar case.
In November, the senators sent letters to the FBI and Office of the Inspector General following the OIG’s investigation into the FBI’s failure to properly investigate reports that Larry Nassar was assaulting young athletes, which enabled the continued abuse of dozens of additional victims.
The FBI response to that inquiry is available here.
“We are pleased to learn of the efforts the FBI has undertaken to improve training and guidance for the handling of suspected abuse to prevent future harm to victims,” the senators wrote. “However, your response did not address all of our requests.”
The senators continued: “The failures in the Nassar case were a stain on the Bureau. We are encouraged that the FBI appears to have responded to these failures and implemented the recommendations of the Inspector General. It is our collective duty to ensure that victims of sex abuse can feel confident that law enforcement, particularly the FBI, will assess and investigate allegations of abuse professionally and in a timely matter. We look forward to our continued partnership on this important goal.”
Full text of letter is available here and follows:
February 25, 2022
The Honorable Christopher A. Wray Director Federal Bureau of Investigation 935 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, D.C. 20535
Dear Director Wray:
We write regarding your January 28, 2022 response to our November 17, 2021 letter requesting information about the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) remedial actions following the Inspector General’s report on the failed Larry Nassar investigation. We are pleased to learn of the efforts the FBI has undertaken to improve training and guidance for the handling of suspected abuse to prevent future harm to victims. However, your response did not address all of our requests.
We requested policies and other documents reflecting the FBI’s current approach to handling allegations of sexual abuse. Your response described two new/updated trainings: Reporting Suspected Child Abuse: What FBI Personnel Need to Know and Lessons Learned and Next Steps in Response to the Nassar OIG Report. You also described changes that the FBI has made to the Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide, the FBI’s Crimes Against Children and Human Trafficking Program Policy Guide, and the Victim Services Policy Guide. To help us understand the full scope of these reforms and evaluate their sufficiency, please produce the underlying documents and materials for these trainings and policies, which are encompassed in our November 17 request.
Our November 17 letter also requested the FBI’s policies and procedures for when a Child/Adolescent Forensic Reviewer (CAFI) should be present during an interview with a child or adolescent alleging abuse. During your September 15, 2021 testimony, you stated that the FBI has updated its policies concerning the use of CAFIs. Please respond to our request by producing the FBI’s policies, procedures, and guidance concerning the use of CAFIs.
Finally, to better understand the FBI’s review of its pre-assessment activities for crimes against children, we request that you provide the Committee a briefing on this subject. As part of this briefing we ask that you provide more detail on how the FBI uses the Guardian system to manage tips, leads, and assessments and how this tool is used to ensure adherence to policies and best practices. We also ask that you describe in detail the role of CAFIs during pre-assessment activities.
Please provide these documents and contact us to schedule a briefing no later than March 10, 2022.
The failures in the Nassar case were a stain on the Bureau. We are encouraged that the FBI appears to have responded to these failures and implemented the recommendations of the Inspector General. It is our collective duty to ensure that victims of sex abuse can feel confident that law enforcement, particularly the FBI, will assess and investigate allegations of abuse professionally and in a timely matter. We look forward to our continued partnership on this important goal.
Thank you in advance for your prompt response to this follow-up.
Respectfully,
Dianne Feinstein United States Senator
Charles E. Grassley Ranking Member
Richard J. Durbin Chair
John Cornyn United States Senator
Patrick Leahy United States Senator
Ted Cruz United States Senator
Amy Klobuchar United States Senator
John Kennedy United States Senator
Christopher A. Coons United States Senator
Marsha Blackburn United States Senator
Richard Blumenthal United States Senator
Mazie K. Hirono United States Senator
Cory A. Booker United States Senator
Alex Padilla United States Senator
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