After CIA employees tell Congress their sexual assault cases at the agency were mishandled, the House Intelligence Committee proposes new legislation that would allow victims of sexual harassment and assault to Langley to more easily ask for help.
The committee, led by Chairman Mike Turner (R-Ohio) and Ranking Member Jim Himes (D-Conn.), includes the provision, details of which were obtained by POLITICO, in the Intelligence Authorization Act which was annotated this morning in a closed session.
The provision creates an Office of Victims Advocate and Whistleblowers at the CIA to serve as a single point of contact for alleged victims and to provide them with legal assistance and counsel on their behalf as they attempt to get justice.
It also forces the CIA to put in place new mechanisms for reporting sexual assault and harassment that both protect the identities of people who come forward alleging such behavior and do a better job of ensuring that the authors are held responsible.
The provision also mandates the creation of special victim investigators to pursue any allegations of these types of crimes and work with law enforcement to prosecute such cases.
Himes said in an interview that CIA Director Bill Burns had “already begun the process of strengthening what was probably a simple operation to handle these cases internally.” He said that in mid-May the committee held a classified roundtable with the CIA’s version of a human resources office as part of its investigation into allegations made by a number of women. Himes said while this was “satisfactory to a point, it was very clear that this HR unit hadn’t given much thought to the broader culture.”
Himes said Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.), a former CIA officer, made “absolutely captivating” remarks about her own experiences as a CIA employee and a woman in the agency. .
“It was just heartbreaking to hear Abigail talk about some of the things she witnessed,” he said. “And so it became clear that the solution here had to be both modernizing and streamlining support and accountability processes within the CIA.”
Turner said in an emailed statement that the provision “takes significant steps to protect the men and women of IC from harassment and predatory behavior.”
CIA spokeswoman Tammy Thorp said in a statement that the agency takes concerns about the CIA’s handling of these allegations “extremely seriously.”
“We will continue to move quickly to get it right and provide the safe and respectful work environment that each of our officers deserves,” she added. “We are cooperating fully with the House Permanent Select Committee’s investigation and are fully committed to working with them on their proposal throughout the legislative process.”
At least three female CIA employees who say they were sexually assaulted at the agency have approached the committee since January to tell them that the agency discourages women from filing sexual misconduct complaints. A lawyer representing some of them said the CIA also made it difficult for alleged victims to speak to law enforcement.
The women who came forward led the committee to launch its investigation into whether the CIA was mishandling matters, a POLITICO investigation revealed in April and which is still ongoing. A committee aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation, said dozens of women had reported concerns about sexual misconduct and committee investigators had spoken to a subset between them.
In May, the CIA announced that it had hired a sexual assault prevention expert and created an internal task force to research ways to improve its processes for reporting sexual assault or workplace harassment. The task force has already made recommendations that the agency says have resulted in improvements to their EEO and reporting processes for these types of claims. The CIA has also set up an Accountability Committee to ensure disciplinary action is consistent across the agency and makes it easier for crimes to be referred for prosecution.
Himes said part of the agency’s macho culture needs to be modernized for the modern era to have zero tolerance for sexual assault at Langley.
“In some parts of the CIA, there’s a macho, probably macho, probably the aspiration in orientation,” he said. “And that can be good up to a point, but it’s obviously not good if it’s discriminatory or allows egregious behavior.”
Rep. Andre Carson (D-Ind.), who chairs the CIA subcommittee and was instrumental in drafting the provision, said it was inspired by the victims who came forward.