“Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley is asking about the handling of multiple claims of sexual harassment, bullying, gender discrimination and witness intimidation by senior Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) managers dating back to 2012, including alleged attempts to prevent independent oversight by the Inspector General,” a Wednesday committee media advisory reported. “The allegations from eight whistleblowers include threats, unwanted sexual advances, graphic sexual comments and attempts to retaliate against employees who disclosed the inappropriate behavior.” . . .
The press release links to a letter Grassley wrote to Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Inspector General Michael Horowitz on Monday. A confidential source provided advance information to this correspondent on the condition that the story would be embargoed until the release was published.
“Reports of these practices have been widespread, with many originating from inside the Special Operations Division (SOD) and dating back to 2012,” Grassley wrote. “Special Agent Sherry Ann Quindley—a 25 year ATF veteran—along with 7 other whistleblowers indicate that they have experienced some form of the above harassment and sought help from the Internal Affairs Division (ATF IAD), largely to no avail.
“According to these whistleblowers, it is not uncommon for allegations to be suppressed for several years, preventing the Office of the Inspector General (DOJ OIG) from properly determining whether to conduct further investigations,” Grassley explained.
Observers of ATF management practices over the years will not be surprised by these allegations. Rather, especially for those who paid close attention to the treatment of Operation Fast and Furious “gunwalking” whistleblowers, retaliation appeared to be the rule, rather than the exception.
Likewise, witness intimidation and other acts of official misconduct have been documented by The Truth About Guns in the case of former ATF agent and whistleblower Jay Dobyns. He sued ATF for failure to properly investigate an arson attack that destroyed his home and endangered his family, and for reneging on protection agreements over death threats he received after ATF withdrew his cover identity following his undercover investigation of the Hells Angels.
As noted in that report, Senior Judge Francis M. Allegra of the United States Court of Federal Claims characterized the behavior of Department of Justice and ATF attorneys as . . . “fraud upon the court,” after allegations that they had engaged in witness intimidation and withholding information from the court.
As for sexual harassment and other alleged acts of intimidation, the allegations, if corroborated, are outrageous and inexcusable. If attempts to retaliate against whistleblowers are confirmed, the charges could escalate to conduct warranting criminal charges if substantiated.
“Abuse by power-corrupted executives at ATF is the cancer killing ATF,” Dobyns told TTAG. “The bureau has become an ‘us managers’ against ‘them field employees’ work environment. Real oversight is needed, not just talk of it or threatening letters being sent.
“I’ve known Sherry Ann for her entire career and she simply did not deserve this,” Dobyns stated. “No one would.”
Whether AG Lynch agrees with that assessment, or instead continues her predecessor Eric Holder’s and the administration’s pattern of stonewalling, remains to be seen.
Status quo as always. Nothing will change.
Does the ATF practice sexual harassment, bullying, gender discrimination and witness intimidation?
Not the ATF I know.
They were done practicing 40 years ago, it’s second nature now.
100% this! The ATF has been an agency plagued by corruption, mismanagement, nonmanagement, incompetence, for decades. It’s the ugly bastard murderous step-child that no one wants and no one has the balls to get rid of.
I agree, the ATF I know specializes in initiating the burning deaths of almost a hundred men, women and children; also retaliating against a man that wouldn’t become a snitch against a white supremacist group leading to having that man’s son being shot in the back, and his wife to be shot in the head.
Illegally selling weapons to the Mexican cartel leading to the deaths of hundreds of Mexican citizens and the death of an American border agent.
Burn
Assault
Terrorize
Firebomb
One of, if not the most, corrupt american government agency in existence today.
Shut it down. Problem solved.
Chuck Grassley was once a great Conservative. BUT now that he chairs what sound be the busiest Committee bashing Obumer admin in the brainpan and his Rep Party has the majority his “teeth” consists of sending out letters. Like the rest of the Senate Rep no nads to actually do anything.
Side note that Thurs Chuck’s office informed me that we can’t stop the flow of Military age Middleastern “refugees” because of the Constitution. He is now a RINO.
Very annoying today to hear on the radio the Jr Senator from Iowa, Ms Ernst, bloviating that can’t change the rules of the Senate to trash the BS super majority rule. Because. FINALLY my home state’s ultimate POS demtard, Senator Harkin retires, and we end up with a weak McConnell lapdog RINO. Who obviously has no nads. At least we KNEW upfront that Harkin was the enemy of the Constitution and expected him to vote wrong on every issue.
A little hard on for Joni there, Bub? She’s been at her job for less than a year.
Never mind the Obama administration. The thing that I’m concerned about is Congress. How is it that the Executive branch can create one scandal immediately after another, each of escalating outrageousness? Each scandal opens a new Congressional investigation, often one in each chamber. Yet, nothing ultimately is accomplished.
What is wrong? Clearly, the Democrats’ highest value is to protect their “king”. And, the Republicans’ highest value is to never get to the bottom of anything. Never to use their power – either a the loyal minority, nor as the majority – to put a stop to the outrage.
My suspicion is that the Republicans need the Democrats to maintain the regular order of splitting the pork 60:40 with 60% going to the party in power. Either party is apt to be out-of-power, but the system continues on. What remains critical is that most of the incumbents in their 3’rd term are re-elected to their 4th terms; most in their 2’nd term re-elected to their 3’rd and so forth; i.e., that the seniority system prevails. Each member of Congress sees his path to power as remaining in office until he has seniority – and with that seniority, powerful committee chairmanships.
If we are to break this system we have to attack senior RINOs. I.e., those who are in their 3’rd terms and are in-line to inherit the choice leadership positions. We need to primary them; and, then, vote for their Democrat opponents so as to knock them out of their place in line for seniority and choice committee assignments.
Admittedly, we will have a hard time finding a primary opponent who could defeat an incumbent; but it happens. It ought to be easier in some cases to contribute votes to the Democrat opponent to defeat the incumbent RINO. It’s going to take courage to vote for the Democrat who will be – almost certainly – worse than the RINO. However, if we keep voting for the RINO (the lesser of 2 evils) then we have allowed the GOP elite to “own” our votes. As long as they “own” our votes they can ignore us.
Imagine what would happen to the Democrat party if blacks started voting for Republicans! The Democrats would have to stop feeding Wall Street and start delivering on their promises to their constituent voters. Now you understand what we have to do.
It would seem that all of the illegalities and stupid decision making starts at the top and flows down hill to subordinates who cannot disobey the grand stupidity of it all, on pain of serious and unforgivable retaliation. And when management screws up, only the lower echelon suffers the consequences. Eliminate all senior management, relieve the ATF of any law enforcement duties or powers, and return it to its largely administrative and investigative role as in the past, and much of this will cease to occur.
Here’s the ‘Traitorous Ten’ Republicans who put her in as Attorney General:
Ayotte (R-NH), Cochran (R-MS), Collins (R-ME), Flake (R-AZ), Graham (R-SC), Hatch (R-UT), Johnson (R-WI), Kirk (R-IL), McConnell (R-KY), Portman (R-OH)
Question: On the Nomination (Confirmation Loretta E. Lynch, of New York, to be Attorney General )
Vote Number: 165 Vote Date: April 23, 2015, 01:37 PM
Required For Majority: 1/2 Vote Result: Nomination Confirmed
Nomination Number: PN4
Nomination Description: Loretta E. Lynch, of New York, to be Attorney General
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=114&session=1&vote=00165
Voters in these states need to remember this when their senator runs for re-election.
the corrupt investigating the Corrupt: Go figure, same O Same O nothing changes, especially from an incompetent President who puts unqualified lackeys in charge!
gosh a republican making the Judaical branch answer questions and nothing will get done as always a useless waste of time and money!
Endangering the life of an agent after withdrawing his cover and reneging on promises of protection?
Eh, not really an issue.
However, sexual harassment at ATF? Burn the agency to the ground!!!
I have a solution, we take the top management of the BATF and fly them to one of those secret overseas prisons that the United States has but likes to deny exist, and plop ’em in a cell with some REAL serious actual bad guys that gut people and cut off their heads for fun and laughs. Make high resolution color videos and show them to the rest of BATF personnel for instructional purposes as to what happens when you violate your oath of office, violate the constitution, and cause needless harm to your fellow Americans and their dogs and cats. Oh heck, show those videos to all the alphabet agencies.
I’ve never talked to ANY LEO, who EVER wanted to work for the BAFTE. Its the bastard child of the DOJ’s alphabet soup. Its so messed up that I feel like the DOJ is just like “well shit how do we fix this without just dissolving it?”. Really I’d rather it be dissolved into the FBI, they have so much overlap its not even funny. Give the Alcohol and Tobacco stuff to the DEA and the firearms and explosives to the FBI because it seams like the FBI investigates any federal crime it wants if the rest of the soup doesn’t follow through.
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Just try to picture what would happen to the Democratic party if black voters began to support the Republican party instead. In order for the Democrats to keep their commitments to the people who elected them, they need to stop pandering to Wall Street and start keeping their word. bubble shooter You have gained an understanding of the tasks that lie ahead of us.
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