[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 193 (Tuesday, December 13, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7119-S7120]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                     Nomination of Eric M. Garcetti

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I would like to express my strong 
opposition to the nomination of Eric Garcetti to be Ambassador to 
India. I am 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 have prioritized protecting victims of sexual 
harassment and sexual 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.
  Over several Congresses, I have co-led bills introduced by Senator 
Gillibrand to defend victims of sexual harassment and sexual 
misconduct. I 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 have also pressed the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security 
for more transparency and accountability on their handling of sexual 
misconduct in the workplace. Moving into the next Congress, Senator 
Durbin and I have 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 allege that Rick Jacobs engaged in inappropriate 
physical conduct 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 toward Asians and other 
minorities.
  These allegations have also been publicly reported in the Los Angeles 
Times. Text messages made public by the Los Angeles Times indicate that 
these instances were common knowledge among the Garcetti staff. One 
picture that has been made public shows Jacobs inappropriately touching 
an individual next to him. In the picture Mayor Garcetti is standing on 
the other side of Mr. Jacobs. For Mayor Garcetti to claim that he 
didn't know what was going on defies reason.
  There is 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 have 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 are his former communications director, senior staffers, 
junior staffers, businessmen, civic leaders, and the 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 have come forward and shed light on 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 are ignored? And they have 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 cosponsored which enabled 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 will 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 allegation irrespective 
of partisan politics. That is my reputation.

[[Page S7120]]

The evidence is clear that Jacobs engaged in blatant sexual misconduct 
and racist behavior and did it 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, the 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 firsthand witnesses. The 
interviews were not taken under penalty of perjury.
  The report focused exclusively on allegations of sexual harassment 
made by the Los Angeles Police Department and--get this--failed to give 
due weight to other witnesses.
  For example, the report includes an interview with Jacobs in which he 
admits he used 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 Jacobs' actions weren't funny and embarrassed that person.
  That makes it clear. It makes it clear nonconsensual, physical 
contact occurred. It is evidence that sexual harassment occurred. 
Oddly, the report makes no attempt--no attempt whatsoever--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 
thing 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 and take them 
very seriously. Whether here in the United States or abroad, there is 
no place for sexual misconduct or racism.
  Mayor Garcetti has had countless opportunities over the years to 
stand up for victims by removing his deputy chief of staff, which he 
failed to do. These fundamental failures by Mayor Garcetti are 
incompatible with the office that he seeks. Therefore, I can't, in good 
conscience, vote for him.
  I strongly encourage my colleagues to review all of this evidence 
found in my investigative report as well as what is reported 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.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Hawaii.