DOJ watchdog report highlights FBI's mishandling of Larry Nassar case
14 July 2021
A report released Wednesday by the Justice Department's inspector general criticizes the FBI's handling of its investigation into sex-abuse allegations against former Olympic team doctor Larry Nassar.
Why it matters: Nassar was sentenced in 2018 to 40-175 years in prison after more than 160 women—including Olympic gold medalists Aly Raisman and Simone Biles — accused Nassar of sexual assault and harassment under the premise of medical treatment.
Driving the news: The watchdog opened an investigation into the FBI's handling of the case in 2018 following reports that the bureau received complaints regarding Nassar's conduct in 2015 which went "largely unexplored" for more than a year, per the Wall Street Journal.
- "At least 40 girls and women said they were molested over a 14-month period while the FBI was aware of other sexual abuse allegations involving Nassar," the AP reports.
The big picture: The report "highlights serious missteps" in how the FBI handled the case between the time the first allegations were reported and Nassar's arrest, per AP.
- The report found that "despite the extraordinarily serious nature of the allegations and the possibility that Nassar’s conduct could be continuing," senior FBI officials did not respond to the allegations with the "utmost seriousness and urgency that they deserved and required."
- FBI officials also made "numerous and fundamental errors when they did respond to them, and violated multiple FBI policies," the report adds.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.