Blumenthal, Johnson Announce Hearing with Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Linda Fagan

[WASHINGTON, DC] – Today, U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI) Chairman Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Ranking Member Ron Johnson (R-WI) announced that Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Linda Fagan will testify at a hearing, Coast Guard Oversight: Sexual Assault and Harassment, at 3:30 PM on Tuesday, June 11.

In September 2023, PSI opened a bipartisan inquiry into the Coast Guard’s internal review of sexual assault and harassment cases that occurred between 1990 and 2006, which was called Operation Fouled Anchor. The Subcommittee’s inquiry has focused on the Coast Guard’s original mishandling of these cases and the Coast Guard’s failure to reveal Operation Fouled Anchor, and its associated report, to Congress and the public. The Subcommittee is also examining the ways in which the Coast Guard currently handles reports of sexual assault and harassment.  In December, the Subcommittee held a hearing in which four current and former Coast Guard Academy cadets testified about the Coast Guard’s mishandling of their cases. 

The full text of the senators’ initial letter to the Coast Guard is available here. The letter from December 2023 is available here. Video of the Subcommittee’s hearing in December featuring testimony from survivors can be viewed here. The Subcommittee’s February 2024 letter is available here. The Subcommittee’s invitation requesting Fagan’s testimony is available here.

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