Senators on Tuesday grilled Adm. Linda Fagan, the Coast Guard’s first female chief, about an alleged “culture of cover-up” amid a congressional investigation into the branch’s response to sexual assault.
“Almost 6 months ago, when we began this investigation, we were assured that sexual assault was a thing of the past,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said at the hearing. “We found the opposite to be true.”
At the center of the Coast Guard controversy is Operation Fouled Anchor — a branch-led internal investigation investigating sexual misconduct at the Coast Guard Academy between 1988 and 2006. The investigation, closed in 2020, was not voluntarily disclosed to Congress by Costa. Keep until 2023,
“Our failure to share the report with Congress was a mistake,” Fagan acknowledged during the hearing.
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Investigations questioned Fagan about actions the Coast Guard has taken since the public disclosure of Operation Fouled Anchor
Among the points of contention was the Coast Guard’s failure to release documents to aid the subcommittee’s own oversight investigation, which began in September 2023.
Senators reported receiving about 1,000 pages of documents on Monday, the day before the hearing was scheduled. Blumenthal, chairman of the subcommittee, characterized it as a “paper dump” and said he would like to see “more cooperation” from the guard.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), ranking member of the subcommittee, at one point displayed several documents shared by the Coast Guard, flipping through them to reveal substantial redactions throughout the materials provided.
“I am completely dissatisfied without a more direct commitment to disclosure,” Blumenthal told The Hill after the hearing. “There is no reason these documents should be hidden and withheld without further action to prevent sexual assault and retaliation.”
The days leading up to the hearing were marked by growing controversy. On Sunday,
Sharon Norenberg, chief of sexual violence prevention at the Coast Guard Academy, announced her resignation, calling out senior officials in the process. She was present at Tuesday’s hearing.
“The Coast Guard lied to me,” she wrote in a public statement also sent to the investigations subcommittee. “Worse than that, they used me to lie to victims, they used me to silence victims, and they used me in a coordinated effort to discourage victims of sexual assault at the Academy from speaking to Congress about their assaults and the investigation of the Coast Guard about their cases.”
Blumenthal said the Coast Guard has not yet changed its attitude.
“Our investigation also showed, unfortunately, that the Coast Guard continues to suffer from a culture of concealment and cover-up,” he said at a press conference before the hearing.
Approximately 40 whistleblowers have come forward since the congressional investigation began, according to Blumenthal. Three survivors of sexual assault and misconduct during their time in the Coast Guard came forward publicly at a subcommittee hearing in December.
Senators repeatedly pressed Fagan on Tuesday to commit to releasing documents and taking action against police officers who participated in retaliatory actions against survivors, noting that she was not implicated in the Operation Fouled Anchor cover-up.
Fagan has consistently refused to directly answer questions, pointing to the ongoing investigation into the Coast Guard’s practices by the Office of Inspector General (IG).
“The IG investigation cannot be used as an excuse for inaction,” Blumenthal told Fagan.
Johnson asked Fagan to use Department of Homeland Security resources to investigate his department, while Blumenthal pressed her to publicize the branch’s needs as Congress embarks on its appropriations process this summer.
As senators delved into how and when the Coast Guard plans to curb sexual assault, harassment and retaliation among its ranks, Fagan reiterated his commitment to survivors and ensuring the safety of all members.
“This is unacceptable. Not in my Coast Guard,” she said.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
