Blumenthal & Moran Urge DOJ to Conduct Additional Fact-Finding & Comprehensive Review of All Information Related to Larry Nassar Case

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Jerry Moran (R-KS), authors of the Empowering Olympic, Paralympic, and Amateur Athletes Act, called on Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to review all information in its possession related to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) mishandling of its inquiry into former USA Gymnastics (USAG) physician Larry Nassar.

While DOJ is currently reviewing its decision to not criminally charge FBI agents who the DOJ Office of the Inspector General (OIG) determined in July 2021 to have made material false statements during the FBI’s investigation and to the OIG, Blumenthal and Moran urged the Department to do more to ensure accountability for the agents who knew of abuse by Nassar, did nothing about it, and then lied about their inaction in violation of their sworn duty and the law.

“The Department’s response to the OIG report cannot end there. The fact that this review is based, at least in part, on new information that has come to light—more than six years after the Nassar allegations were first reported to the FBI—suggests that there might be more that the FBI and the Department missed,” the senators wrote in their letter to Garland.

In today’s letter, Blumenthal and Moran cited several circumstances that have not yet been addressed by DOJ, including the fact that the former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, whose office worked directly with the FBI agents involved in the Nassar case, is now representing one of the agents accused of misconduct during the investigation. Today’s letter also notes a Congressional committee referral of the CEO of the United States Olympic Committee to DOJ for making material false statements, and accusations that former USAG CEO Steve Penny instructed USAG employees “to immediately locate, pack up and remove any and all documents…related to Nassar or medical care,” when law enforcement arrived unannounced at a training facility. “To date, we do not know what, if anything, the Department did with this referral…it is not clear whether the Department has ever investigated these events,” wrote Blumenthal and Moran.  

“There has been little to no action taken to action taken to hold those at DOJ who should have protected Nassar’s victims accountable,” the senators wrote to Garland. “Furthermore, other information strongly suggests failures – beyond the apparent dereliction of duty by two FBI agents – that merit your attention and fact finding.”

Citing these troubling findings, Blumenthal and Moran called on DOJ to take additional action to ensure justice for the athletes, writing: “We write to urge the Department to conduct a comprehensive review of all information in its possession to determine whether any additional investigations should be opened or widened, and if other individuals and institutions who enabled the cover up this egregious abuse should be charged and held accountable.”

The full text of the letter is available here.

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