Latest news with #Grassley
New York Post
7 days ago
- General
- New York Post
Extent of FBI's targeting of ‘radical traditionalist Catholics' greater than Biden officials claimed, GOP senator reveals
Documents released by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Tuesday appear to contradict former FBI Director Christopher Wray's claim that a controversial 2023 memo targeting 'radical traditionalist Catholics' was a one-off and the work of a single bureau field office. Extent of FBI's targeting of 'radical traditionalist Catholics' greater than Biden officials claimed, GOP senator reveals The Biden-era FBI chief told House lawmakers in July of 2023 that the memo – which described the purported overlaps between Catholics who oppose abortion rights and would-be terrorists as an opportunity for 'threat mitigation' and 'source development' – was 'a single product by a single field office.' However, the new FBI files obtained by Grassley show the bureau produced 'at least 13 additional documents and five attachments that used anti-Catholic terminology,' as well as a second memo updating the FBI's Richmond Field Office's case against 'radical' Catholics. 4 FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies before the House Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington, DC, on July 12, 2023. 'Director Wray's testimony was inaccurate not only because it failed to reveal the scope of the memo's production and dissemination, but also because it failed to reveal the existence of a second, draft product on the same topic intended for external distribution to the whole FBI,' Grassley wrote in a letter to current FBI Director Kash Patel on Monday, demanding more documents. The second FBI memo, released by Grassley, was also drafted by the FBI's Richmond office and repeated the 'unfounded link between traditional Catholicism and violent extremism.' The backlash over the whistleblower disclosure of the initial memo led the Richmond office to never release the second version, according to the Iowa Republican. However, the first 'anti-Catholic Richmond Memo' was 'widely distributed' in February 2023 to more than 1,000 FBI employees nationwide, according to Grassley's findings. 'This raises serious concerns that FBI field offices may have relied on the Richmond memo, and placed groups in their areas of responsibility under suspicion based on reporting from the deeply-biased sources used in the memo,' the senator informed Patel. Additionally, the new documents reveal that Richmond FBI officials worked with the bureau's field offices in Louisville, Portland, and Milwaukee as they drafted the memo – further belying Wray's testimony. 4 The memo described the purported overlaps between Catholics who oppose abortion rights and would-be terrorists as an opportunity for 'threat mitigation' and 'source development.' mariangarai – 4 President Joe Biden delivers his farewell address to the nation from the Oval Office of the White House on Jan. 15, 2025. Getty Images 4 Sen. Chuck Grassley attends a confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on Jan. 15, 2025. REUTERS Grassley and numerous conservatives and Catholics have criticized the FBI for largely relying on the far-left Southern Poverty Law Center's 'hate group' classifications when putting together the memo. 'I continue to investigate the Richmond memo and the culture at the FBI that allowed it to be produced and approved,' the senator informed Patel.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Senate Republican scrutinizes Meta over its handling of sexual harassment allegations
A top Senate Republican is pressing Meta for details on its handling of sexual harassment allegations going back more than a decade. Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, sent a letter to the company on Tuesday asking about allegations made public in March that one of its executives, Joel Kaplan, sent sexually harassing emails to an employee in 2015 and 2016. The letter also asked for information about any other substantiated allegations of sexual harassment or workplace misconduct against 'company leadership' since 2010 and for materials related to Meta's workplace training. Later Tuesday, Meta responded to Grassley by letter and said it planned to turn over an internal report that, according to the company, cleared Kaplan of wrongdoing in 2017. Meta said it investigated the allegations against Kaplan and found them to be 'entirely without merit.' Heidi Swartz, Meta's vice president of employment law and investigations, also offered in the letter to meet with Grassley's staff. Grassley's review of the matter appears to be in an early stage, and it's part of a broader set of questions the senator has been asking about how Meta is complying with federal laws that protect whistleblowers. Grassley's questions are part of the fallout from a bestselling memoir, 'Careless People,' by former Facebook employee Sarah Wynn-Williams. The book chronicles her six-plus years handling international affairs for the social media giant, a job that gave her direct contact with CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other C-suite executives. In the book, Wynn-Williams, a lawyer and former New Zealand diplomat, blames the company for upending politics in the U.S. and elsewhere. She also makes allegations against Kaplan, who was her boss, and writes that she faced retaliation and was fired in 2017 after she reported Kaplan internally. A spokesperson for Grassley said in a statement to NBC News on Wednesday that the senator was 'reviewing the allegations Wynn-Williams brought before his committee to try to determine their veracity,' and is also reviewing Meta's response. 'Cooperation from both Meta and Wynn-Williams is essential as his office works to determine the fact pattern surrounding Wynn-Williams' allegations,' the spokesperson said. Meta has pushed back on Wynn-Williams' allegations, saying that she was fired for performance reasons and is unreliable. 'Ms. Wynn-Williams brought her allegations only after it had been made clear to her that her ongoing and well-documented performance issues could no longer be ignored,' Swartz, the Meta lawyer, wrote in her response to Grassley. Swartz added that 'Ms. Wynn-Williams is the sole person to have made such an allegation about Mr. Kaplan during his 14 years working at the company.' And she accused Wynn-Williams of being a frequent 'instigator' of off-color jokes during her time at the company. In March, Meta won an arbitration order saying Wynn-Williams had violated a nondisparagement clause in her severance agreement. That has prevented her from promoting but not from releasing the memoir, which has spent several weeks on The New York Times' list of top-selling nonfiction. Grassley, who has a long record of advocacy for whistleblower protections in the Senate, has expressed concern about Meta's treatment of Wynn-Williams as a whistleblower. Last month, he wrote to Zuckerberg with concerns that Meta was 'bullying' Wynn-Williams into staying silent. Meta says there is no restriction on Wynn-Williams speaking with investigators. Last month, Wynn-Williams testified before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee, where lawmakers of both parties expressed deep anger at the company on a variety of subjects. Many senators focused on the company's yearslong quest to break into the Chinese market, where its apps Facebook and Instagram are banned, and the privacy compromises Meta considered before abandoning the effort in 2019. Ravi Naik, a lawyer for Wynn-Williams, said that Wynn-Williams welcomes Grassley's inquiry. 'My client appreciates the seriousness with which Chairman Grassley and his Senate colleagues are investigating these issues,' Naik said in a statement. 'Despite Meta and Mark Zuckerberg's claims of being free speech champions, they continue to silence my client, a whistleblower who stepped forward to report wrongful and illegal activity by the company that threatened the safety of its users, U.S. national security, and its employees.' In Grassley's letter to Meta, he quoted three emails from Kaplan to Wynn-Williams, all three of which Wynn-Williams also quoted in her memoir. In one from 2016, Kaplan asked whether her U.S. citizenship test included the phrase 'dirty sanchez,' a sexual slang phrase and racial slur. In a second email from 2015, after Kaplan secured funding for a new position on her team, he emailed, 'Who is your sugar daddy?' And in a third from 2015, he promised that if she met a budget goal, he would 'personally buy you 'something nice' (niceness TBD by the beholder/buyer).' Grassley wrote: 'I take very seriously allegations of whistleblower retaliation and sexual misconduct.' At the time of the emails, Kaplan was Wynn-Williams' boss and a vice president for global public policy. Wynn-Williams wrote in her memoir that she considered the 2015 emails 'pretty mild' but that the 'dirty sanchez' question was a 'new low,' 'totally inappropriate' and a sign that his behavior was 'getting worse.' In January, Zuckerberg promoted Kaplan to chief global affairs officer, making him the head of all lobbying activity for the company. Her allegations became public in March, when Wynn-Williams spoke about them in an interview with NBC News ahead of the publication of her memoir. Meta has not disputed the accuracy of the emails or commented on their contents. Kaplan has also not commented on the allegations, and did not respond to an email request for comment on Grassley's letter. Some current and former Meta employees, including women, have said they had positive experiences working with and for Kaplan. Swartz, the Meta lawyer, wrote to Grassley on Tuesday that the internal investigation of Kaplan did not cover his emails because, she wrote, Wynn-Williams did not raise the emails over the course of the investigation. Swartz wrote that she believed Wynn-Williams did not raise the emails at the time 'because she was aware that she was commonly the instigator and had a track record of making off-color jokes and did not want to prompt an investigation into her own behavior.' In her memoir, Wynn-Williams describes the investigation differently. She writes that Meta quickly closed out the internal review of Kaplan 'before they'd received or reviewed all the documentation and information I said I would supply.' Naik, the lawyer for Wynn-Williams, said in a statement: 'The emails and documentation speak for themselves. My client testified under oath before the Senate about this harassment and will continue to stand by the truth.' This article was originally published on
NBC News
14-05-2025
- Business
- NBC News
Senate Republican scrutinizes Meta over its handling of sexual harassment allegations
A top Senate Republican is pressing Meta for details on its handling of sexual harassment allegations going back more than a decade. Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, sent a letter to the company on Tuesday asking about allegations made public in March that one of its executives, Joel Kaplan, sent sexually harassing emails to an employee in 2015 and 2016. The letter also asked for information about any other substantiated allegations of sexual harassment or workplace misconduct against 'company leadership' since 2010 and for materials related to Meta's workplace training. Later Tuesday, Meta responded to Grassley by letter and said it planned to turn over an internal report that, according to the company, cleared Kaplan of wrongdoing in 2017. Meta said it investigated the allegations against Kaplan and found them to be 'entirely without merit.' Heidi Swartz, Meta's vice president of employment law and investigations, also offered in the letter to meet with Grassley's staff. Grassley's review of the matter appears to be in an early stage, and it's part of a broader set of questions the senator has been asking about how Meta is complying with federal laws that protect whistleblowers. Grassley's questions are part of the fallout from a bestselling memoir, 'Careless People,' by former Facebook employee Sarah Wynn-Williams. The book chronicles her six-plus years handling international affairs for the social media giant, a job that gave her direct contact with CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other C-suite executives. In the book, Wynn-Williams, a lawyer and former New Zealand diplomat, blames the company for upending politics in the U.S. and elsewhere. She also makes allegations against Kaplan, who was her boss, and writes that she faced retaliation and was fired in 2017 after she reported Kaplan internally. A spokesperson for Grassley said in a statement to NBC News on Wednesday that the senator was 'reviewing the allegations Wynn-Williams brought before his committee to try to determine their veracity,' and is also reviewing Meta's response. 'Cooperation from both Meta and Wynn-Williams is essential as his office works to determine the fact pattern surrounding Wynn-Williams' allegations,' the spokesperson said. Meta has pushed back on Wynn-Williams' allegations, saying that she was fired for performance reasons and is unreliable. 'Ms. Wynn-Williams brought her allegations only after it had been made clear to her that her ongoing and well-documented performance issues could no longer be ignored,' Swartz, the Meta lawyer, wrote in her response to Grassley. Swartz added that 'Ms. Wynn-Williams is the sole person to have made such an allegation about Mr. Kaplan during his 14 years working at the company.' And she accused Wynn-Williams of being a frequent 'instigator' of off-color jokes during her time at the company. In March, Meta won an arbitration order saying Wynn-Williams had violated a nondisparagement clause in her severance agreement. That has prevented her from promoting but not from releasing the memoir, which has spent several weeks on The New York Times' list of top-selling nonfiction. Grassley, who has a long record of advocacy for whistleblower protections in the Senate, has expressed concern about Meta's treatment of Wynn-Williams as a whistleblower. Last month, he wrote to Zuckerberg with concerns that Meta was 'bullying' Wynn-Williams into staying silent. Meta says there is no restriction on Wynn-Williams speaking with investigators. Last month, Wynn-Williams testified before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee, where lawmakers of both parties expressed deep anger at the company on a variety of subjects. Many senators focused on the company's yearslong quest to break into the Chinese market, where its apps Facebook and Instagram are banned, and the privacy compromises Meta considered before abandoning the effort in 2019. Ravi Naik, a lawyer for Wynn-Williams, said that Wynn-Williams welcomes Grassley's inquiry. 'My client appreciates the seriousness with which Chairman Grassley and his Senate colleagues are investigating these issues,' Naik said in a statement. 'Despite Meta and Mark Zuckerberg's claims of being free speech champions, they continue to silence my client, a whistleblower who stepped forward to report wrongful and illegal activity by the company that threatened the safety of its users, U.S. national security, and its employees.' In Grassley's letter to Meta, he quoted three emails from Kaplan to Wynn-Williams, all three of which Wynn-Williams also quoted in her memoir. In one from 2016, Kaplan asked whether her U.S. citizenship test included the phrase 'dirty sanchez,' a sexual slang phrase and racial slur. In a second email from 2015, after Kaplan secured funding for a new position on her team, he emailed, 'Who is your sugar daddy?' And in a third from 2015, he promised that if she met a budget goal, he would 'personally buy you 'something nice' (niceness TBD by the beholder/buyer).' Grassley wrote: 'I take very seriously allegations of whistleblower retaliation and sexual misconduct.' At the time of the emails, Kaplan was Wynn-Williams' boss and a vice president for global public policy. Wynn-Williams wrote in her memoir that she considered the 2015 emails 'pretty mild' but that the 'dirty sanchez' question was a 'new low,' 'totally inappropriate' and a sign that his behavior was 'getting worse.' In January, Zuckerberg promoted Kaplan to chief global affairs officer, making him the head of all lobbying activity for the company. Her allegations became public in March, when Wynn-Williams spoke about them in an interview with NBC News ahead of the publication of her memoir. Meta has not disputed the accuracy of the emails or commented on their contents. Kaplan has also not commented on the allegations, and did not respond to an email request for comment on Grassley's letter. Some current and former Meta employees, including women, have said they had positive experiences working with and for Kaplan. Swartz, the Meta lawyer, wrote to Grassley on Tuesday that the internal investigation of Kaplan did not cover his emails because, she wrote, Wynn-Williams did not raise the emails over the course of the investigation. Swartz wrote that she believed Wynn-Williams did not raise the emails at the time 'because she was aware that she was commonly the instigator and had a track record of making off-color jokes and did not want to prompt an investigation into her own behavior.' In her memoir, Wynn-Williams describes the investigation differently. She writes that Meta quickly closed out the internal review of Kaplan 'before they'd received or reviewed all the documentation and information I said I would supply.' Naik, the lawyer for Wynn-Williams, said in a statement: 'The emails and documentation speak for themselves. My client testified under oath before the Senate about this harassment and will continue to stand by the truth.'
New York Post
13-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
GOP senators demand swift action against Biden-era ATF bureaucrats who allegedly ‘defrauded taxpayers' of $20M — and still work for federal govt.
Republican Iowa Sens. Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley called on the Justice Department Monday to hold Biden-era Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives officials accountable for allegedly orchestrating an 'illegal scheme' to 'misclassify' administrative positions as law enforcement ones for greater pay and benefits. 'We raised concerns because as a result of ATF's illegal conduct, ATF staff assigned to these positions performed administrative work but unlawfully received enhanced law enforcement pay and benefits to which they were not entitled, wasting millions of taxpayer dollars,' Ernst and Grassley wrote in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, ATF Acting Director Daniel Driscoll and DOJ Assistant Attorney General for Administration Jolene Ann Lauria. ATF whistleblowers and investigations conducted by the Office of Special Counsel, Office of Personnel Management and ATF's internal affairs division substantiate the allegations of 'illegal conduct' raised by the senators in their letter to the Trump administration officials. 3 The alleged scheme involved ATF officials hiring law enforcement agents for HR positions while still classifying them as law enforcement officers — thus boosting their pay and benefits. Getty Images The internal affairs report, completed in January 2024, contains 'considerable evidence of gross waste, fraud, and abuse; substantial misconduct and mismanagement; abuse of power; and potential criminal misconduct committed by and under the supervision of then-ATF Office of Human Resources and Professional Development (HRPD) Deputy Assistant Director (DAD) Lisa Boykin and HR Division Chief Ralph Bittelari,' according to the lawmakers. The senators highlight Bittelari's alleged efforts to 'fraudulently' certify an ATF workforce wellness role as a law enforcement gig – boosting pay and benefits for the position – despite receiving warnings and pushback from others at the bureau. 'The illegal misclassification scheme hampered the agency's ability to carry out its law enforcement mission,' Grassley and Ernst wrote. The pair presented evidence which appears to show that the ATF relocated 100 field-level officers to its headquarters in Washington, DC, for human resources and professional development roles – while allowing them to continue receiving law-enforcement level wages. Boykin and Bittelari 'disregarded' Office of Personnel Management directives after the agency concluded an audit and suspended the ATF's classification authority, and continued to classify HR positions as law enforcement ones, 'further wasting taxpayer dollars,' according to the senators. 'The OPM audit report found that experienced, rank and file ATF HR employees were passed over for career advancements and promotions because ATF assigned unqualified, inexperienced special agents to these leadership roles within [the ATF Office of Human Resources and Professional Development] and paid them more for doing similar work,' the senators wrote. They also noted that the scheme cost taxpayers millions of dollars. 'In addition to undermining ATF's mission, this HR scheme was also costly,' the lawmakers said, noting that the OPM estimates the scheme cost taxpayers 'around $20 million during the five-year period they reviewed.' 3 Ernst encouraged Attorney General Pam Bondi to open a criminal investigation into the matter. AP 3 'The Biden administration's ATF illegally lined employees' pockets with tens-of-millions of taxpayer dollars. These Washington bureaucrats must answer for their misconduct, and if heads don't roll, nothing will change,' Grassley said. Bloomberg via Getty Images Grassley and Ernst claim whistleblowers have told them that figure is 'substantially understated' and could potentially be 'in the hundreds of millions of dollars.' The lawmakers asked the Trump administration to hold Boykin and Bittelari accountable for their 'gross misconduct' — noting that the pair remain employed at the Department of Justice despite their alleged role in the scheme. 'The Biden administration's ATF illegally lined employees' pockets with tens-of-millions of taxpayer dollars. These Washington bureaucrats must answer for their misconduct, and if heads don't roll, nothing will change,' Grassley said in a statement. 'It is unacceptable that the Biden administration looked the other way while ATF bureaucrats knowingly defrauded taxpayers to pad their salaries,' Ernst said. 'These desk jockeys pretending to be law enforcement officers are about to get a crash course in the law.' 'I look forward to Attorney General Pam Bondi sending a clear message that federal employees are not above the law and stealing tax dollars is a crime.'
Axios
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Scoop: Senate gears up for Trump 2.0 judge confirmations
Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is scheduling a June 4 hearing for the first slate of nominated judges of President Trump's second term — a push for speedy confirmations, Axios has learned. Why it matters: Trump and his allies, including Grassley, have railed against federal courts hamstringing the administration. Now, Senate Republicans aim to put more GOP-friendly judges on the bench. Trump took longer to nominate judges this time around than he did in 2017 or former President Biden did in 2021. Grassley is now setting the hearing for the earliest day possible. Committee rules require him to wait 28 days after receiving the nominations. What he's saying: "Far too many judges are attempting to play policymaker instead of plainly interpreting the law, as our Constitution requires," Grassley said in a statement provided to Axios. "It's clear the federal judiciary needs more constitutionalist judges, and that's what President Trump's judicial nominees will deliver." Zoom in: All five current nominees will be questioned in the same committee hearing. Trump has nominated Zachary Bluestone, Joshua Divine, Maria Lanahan and Cristian Stevens to serve on the U.S. District Court in Missouri. He also nominated Whitney Hermandorfer to serve on the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. By the numbers: There are just 46 judicial vacancies for Trump to fill, right now — far fewer than at the start of his first term. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) made judges a top priority when he was leader. He set a record of 234 confirmed judges in one presidential term, which included three Supreme Court justices. Then-Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) broke that record in late December, reaching 235 confirmed judges. It will be difficult for Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) to beat his predecessors, barring a wave of retirements leading to more judicial vacancies.
