A probe by GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley found that LA Mayor Eric Garcetti 'likely' was aware of sexual harassment, racism allegations against an ex-senior aide
- An investigation by Sen. Chuck Grassley found LA Mayor Eric Garcetti "likely" knew of his top aide's alleged misconduct.
- "It was pervasive, widespread, and notorious," a memo of the probe said of the former aide's behavior.
An investigation ordered by GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa found that Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti "likely" knew of sexual harassment and racism allegations against his former senior advisor, according to a memo of the probe.
Grassley launched the investigation following President Joe Biden nominating Garcetti to serve as ambassador to India last July.
Garcetti's nomination was placed on hold by GOP Sens. Grassley and Joni Ernst over the alleged misconduct of his former aide and whether Garcetti was honest when he said he "never witnessed" it during a confirmation hearing in December. Grassley lifted the hold on the nomination later Tuesday.
In the 23-page memo released Tuesday, Grassley accused Garcetti of, during his time as LA mayor, knowing that his then-Deputy Chief of Staff Rick Jacobs "had sexually harassed multiple individuals and made racist and derogatory comments towards others."
The memo detailed that several people in Garcetti's office had complained of unwanted kisses or physical contact from Jacobs or that he was hitting on them.
"By all accounts, Mr. Jacobs' behavior was widely known and talked about. It was pervasive, widespread, and notorious — to the point that Mr. Jacobs sexually harassed someone in front of the Mayor for a picture that would be memorialized for all time," according to the memo, referring to a photo of Jacobs, Garcetti, and others in June 2017, in which Jacobs placed his hand over the crotch of Alec Evans of Kirra Consulting.
The probe claimed that, given that Garcetti "is very involved in the day-to-day operation of his office," "it is extremely unlikely that he would not have been aware of Mr. Jacobs' behavior."
Jacobs served as Garcetti's top aide until February 2017 before leaving to join the board of the Mayor's Fund for Los Angeles, a non-profit established a year after Garcetti took office.
In a statement to Insider, a White House spokesperson defended Garcetti and condemned the probe, describing it as a "partisan report."
"This partisan report was a hit job from the beginning, and many of the claims have already been conclusively debunked by more serious independent reports," the spokesperson said, adding that the president "has confidence in Mayor Garcetti and believes he will be an excellent representative in India at a critical moment and calls for the Senate to swiftly confirm him."
The memo contradicts Garcetti's remarks during a December hearing before members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which approved his nomination in January.
The Los Angeles mayor claimed he had "never witnessed" his former top aide sexually harass one of Garcetti's police bodyguards — one of the allegations central to the alleged misconduct scandal.
"I never witnessed, nor was it brought to my attention, the behavior that's been alleged," Garcetti said. "… If it had been, I would have immediately taken action to stop that."
Dae Levine, Chief Communications Officer for the LA mayor's office, told Insider in a statement that the conclusion reached at the end of the probe "does not reflect the truth about the experiences of so many people who have testified under oath and spoken candidly to the Senator's office."
"It is based solely on false, repackaged allegations that have been proven false by multiple unbiased investigations and reviews," Levine said.
Garcetti echoed Levine, saying he "strongly disagrees" with the opinion of the investigation but is "pleased that Senator Grassley has lifted his hold, and hope that my nomination by the President can be considered by the Senate soon."