[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 47 (Tuesday, March 14, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S768-S769]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     NOMINATION OF ERIC M. GARCETTI

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, last Congress, I spoke of my strong 
opposition to the nomination of Eric Garcetti to be Ambassador to the 
Republic of India. I opposed the nomination due to the serious and 
credible allegations that he enabled sexual harassment and racism to 
run rampant in the Los Angeles mayor's office. When the nomination 
expired, I had hoped President Biden would recognize his egregious 
mistake, believe the victims, and change course.
  President Biden failed to do so. Indefensibly, at the same time the 
Biden administration decries sexual harassment and racism, it has now 
twice nominated an individual to represent our country abroad who has 
enabled those very same disgusting acts. Accordingly, I continue to 
oppose Garcetti's nomination and ask this question: What will it take 
for the Biden administration to believe the victims? That same question 
should be posed to every Member in the Senate that is considering 
voting for him.
  During my career, I have 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. Last Congress, I cosponsored bills 
introduced by Senator Gillibrand to protect and 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.
  This Congress, I have sent several bipartisan letters to the 
Department of Justice seeking information regarding sexual misconduct 
by Bureau of Prisons personnel and inmates against staff. With Senators 
Durbin and Padilla, I met with the Bureau of Prisons Director to 
further investigate sexual misconduct and discuss reforms to enhance 
prevention, reporting, investigation, prosecution, and discipline of 
these matters.
  With respect to Mayor Garcetti, I have made clear to my colleagues 
and

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the American people that 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 and degrading 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 many news 
outlets. Text messages made public by the Los Angeles Times indicate 
that these incidents were common knowledge among Garcetti's staff. A 
now infamous picture shows Jacobs inappropriately touching an 
individual next to him. In the picture, Mayor Garcetti is standing on 
the other side of Jacobs.
  Mayor Garcetti said under oath during his nomination that ``I want to 
say unequivocally that I never witnessed, nor was it brought to my 
attention, the behavior that's been alleged, and I also want to assure 
you if it had been, I would have immediately taken action to stop 
that.''
  How can that statement be true when there is a photo with Jacobs 
inappropriately touching an individual next to Garcetti? How can that 
statement be true when text messages exist from his own staff 
discussing the toxic work environment within the mayor's office?
  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 a Los 
Angeles Police Department officer assigned to protect him. This isn't a 
political hit job. This is a bipartisan endeavor to stop an inadequate 
nominee.
  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 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 is evidence that sexual harassment occurred. And it 
literally occurred right next to Mayor Garcetti.
  The last time I spoke about this matter was right after President 
Biden signed the Speak Out Act into law. I cosponsored that bill, which 
Senator Gillibrand led. The law enables survivors to speak out about 
workplace sexual assault and harassment.
  So, on the one hand, the Biden administration says it supports 
victims. Yet, on the other hand, the Biden administration supports a 
nominee who enables misconduct that creates more victims. The Biden 
administration's positions are irreconcilable. They are the very 
definition of tone deafness. The Biden administration and all those who 
support this nomination have sent a message that victims will only be 
believed when politically convenient. The Biden administration has no 
credibility when it comes to protecting victims of sexual harassment. 
To my Senate colleagues, do you support victims of sexual harassment 
and racism or a man who enabled it for years, leaving many victims in 
his wake? You can't support both.
  Mayor Garcetti's own staff have spoken out to stop this nomination at 
a risk to their careers. One of them is Naomi Seligman, who was Mayor 
Garcetti's former communications director and one of the many 
whistleblowers who worked with my office regarding this nomination. She 
said that Garcetti's vote out of the Foreign Relations Committee ``on 
International Women's Day no less, shows a real disconnect between the 
rhetoric we hear from elected leaders who claim to support victims of 
workplace sexual harassment and the pass they give to party loyalists 
in the next breath. It's disheartening to say the least.''
  I agree. Mayor Garcetti is incompatible with the office that he 
seeks. I, again, strongly encourage my colleagues--Democrats and 
Republicans alike--to review the evidence found in my investigative 
report, as well as in the press. Most importantly, listen to the 
victims. The facts and the evidence compel me to vote no, and my 
colleagues must join me in doing the same.

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