Today victims of Larry Nassar again had to again speak about their abuse at the hands of this former USA Gymnastics and MSU “Dr.” Larry Nassar, this time in front of the U.S. Senate. The testimony was heartbreaking and gut-wrenching and addressed the very real, coast-to-coast, systemic failures of the FBI in this case. These agents should be trained to listen to victims the first time and to do their goddamn jobs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdPa8gRvA0o.
“It should not be a survivor’s burden to continually seek justice and demand an end to their nightmares; that’s the job of our law enforcement agencies,” said Senator Diane Feinstein, D-Cal. You could have fooled me. As another senator noted, the failures of the FBI in this case–ignoring victims’ reports for some 18 months, resulting in continued assaults by Nassar–had real, human consequences, as did the subsequent cover ups and lies by the FBI about what survivors told them. By the Federal. Bureau. Of. Investigation.
The Department of Justice declined to appear to explain why none of the agents involved are facing criminal charges. These agencies not only fail to charge, but let their POS employees resign or retire with benefits instead of being terminated. Just like pigs from USA Gymnastics and MSU President (“I can’t make this about me/but I certainly will”) Lou Anna K. Simon. https://www.sbnation.com/2018/1/19/16900674/larry-nassar-abuse-timeline-usa-gymnastics-michigan-state. (In fact, for an insightful timeline/overview of people associated with MSU who should be ashamed of their handling of the Nassar allegations, see this link. Appalling.)
“On no planet is what happened in this case acceptable,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/gymnasts-nassar-fbi-investigation-hearing/2021/09/14/de4832cc-159f-11ec-9589-31ac3173c2e5_story.html?utm_campaign=ext_rweb&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=extension. Imagine the planet everyone was on when the FBI was getting information about Frank Shelden and the OCCK crimes back in the 1970s, and taking orders from a local hack like L. Brooks Patterson.
Here’s the good news. These brave women have continued to tell this story and seem capable of doing so until such time that the FBI gets it shit together and starts investigating sex crimes like professionals. It could be a while, but it looks like they are up to the task. Much more so than the agents who touched the Nassar case, that’s for damn sure.
In other news, former Speaker of the House and pedophile (you really can never use the word “former” there) Dennis Hastert has reached a tentative settlement with his accuser in the hush money payment case. https://chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2021/9/15/22676351/dennis-hastert-settles-accuser-lawsuit-over-hush-money-payments. Imagine what a slow news day it could have been if men would stop sexually abusing and raping minors.