US gymnasts testify before Congress about FBI's Nassar investigation

A Senate hearing on how the FBI and Justice Department conducted the investigation into sexual abuse claims against former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar has wrapped.

The committee heard from four top gymnasts and Nassar abuse survivors: Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman, and Maggie Nichols. The gymnasts blasted the investigators' handling of their claims.

Allegations into Nassar were first brought to the agency in July 2015. Several violations of protocols led to months of delay, as captured in a scathing Justice Department inspector general report released in July.

FBI officials "failed to respond to the Nassar allegations with the utmost seriousness and urgency that they deserved and required, made numerous and fundamental errors when they did respond to them, and violated multiple FBI policies," the report stated.

If you're just reading in now, here's a recap of some of what the gymnasts said:

Simone Biles:

Biles blamed "an entire system that enabled and perpetuated his abuse."

"I don't want another young gymnast, Olympic athlete or any individual to experience the horror that I and hundreds of others have endured before, during and continuing to this day, in the wake — of the Larry Nassar abuse," Biles said in an emotional testimony.

"To be clear, I blame Larry Nassar and I also blame an entire system that enabled and perpetrated his abuse. USA gymnastics and the United States Olympic and Paralympic committee knew that I was abused by their official team doctor long before I was ever made aware of their knowledge," she told the committee.

McKayla Maroney:

Maroney said the FBI agents who handled the investigation "committed an obvious crime" and deserved to be indicted.

"What's even more upsetting to me is that we know that these FBI agents have committed an obvious crime. They falsified my statement, and that is illegal in itself. Yet no recourse has been taken against them. The Department of Justice refused to prosecute these individuals. Why?" she said. "Deputy attorney general Lisa Monaco couldn't bring herself to be here today. It's the Department of Justice's job to hold them accountable."

"These individuals clearly violated policies and were negligent in executing their duties, and in doing so, more girls were abused by Larry Nassar for over a year," she said.

"To not indict these agents is a disservice to me and my teammates, a disservice to the system which is built to protect all of us from abuse," the gymnast continued.

Maggie Nichols:

All of the gymnasts noted that the federal investigators did not immediately contact them after they reported the abuse. Nichols said she was not interviewed by the FBI for more than a year after she reported the abuse.

"The coverup of my abuse and the FBI's failure to interview me for more than a year after my complaint are well-documented in the OIG report. After I reported my abuse to USA Gymnastics, my family and I were told by their former president, Steve Penny, to keep quiet and not say anything that could hurt the FBI investigation. We now know there was no real FBI investigation occurring. While my complaints [were] with the FBI, Larry Nassar continued to abuse women and girls," she said.

Aly Raisman:

Raisman said it's "unrealistic" to "grasp the full extent of culpability" without an investigation into why USA Gymnastics and the US Olympic Committee chose to ignore abuse reports.

"Without knowing who knew what when, we cannot identify all enablers or determine whether they are still in positions of power. We just can't fix a problem we don't understand, and we can't understand the problem unless and until we have all of the facts."

FBI Director Chris Wray and Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz also testified in a separate panel. Wray said that he felt "heartsick and furious" once he learned the extent of the agency's failures.

Still, he painted the botched investigation as the product of "individuals" who "betrayed the core duty that they have of protecting people," rather than being reflective of the agency as a whole. Wray vowed to "make damn sure that everybody at the FBI remembers what happened here in heartbreaking detail."

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, rebuked the Federal Bureau of Investigation this afternoon in a news conference following the Senate hearing on the mishandling of the sex abuse investigation of former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, called out the Department of Justice for failing to appear at today's hearing despite being invited.

"The Department of Justice today was a no-show. The Department of Justice failed to appear. They have responsibility ultimately for the FBI, for the prosecutions, and for action here."

He said that the DOJ "hasn't run out of action" in terms of its responsibility to the case. Blumenthal reiterated that the DOJ "should be answering many of the questions" posed at the hearing today. 

"So I am by no means satisfied with what I heard today," he said.

Gymnast Kaylee Lorincz rebuked the FBI's handling of her case during a news conference after the Senate hearing. Lorinncz directly faulted the FBI for the abuse she endured after accusations were made in 2015.

"My last appointment with Larry Nassar was Feb. 2, 2016 and that appointment should've never happened," Lorincz told reporters.

She continued: "I'm here speaking on behalf of the 120 victims who saw Larry after the FBI knew of his abuse in 2015 and failed to investigate, failed to take action and failed to protect. Let me be clear, I should not be here. I was abused from 2011 to 2016 and my life has been forever changed. When I think of the FBI, I think of truth, integrity and honor, and yet the reality of their actions was the exact opposite. One of the FBI core values is listed as accountability. So let me ask, where is the accountability? Where is the accountability for letting Larry continue to sexually assault little girls on your watch? Where is the accountability for those at the FBI who chose to place personal gain ahead of their duties to protect and serve?"

Lorincz went on to demand that criminal charges be brought against those FBI agents who failed to fully investigate and document the abuse allegations.

"Had anyone at the FBI done their job, then I would not be here speaking to you today. Accountability will only occur when the FBI agents who did not do their job face criminal charges. My 2016 abuse is on them. It is five years later, five years of asking the same questions. It's time for these questions to be answered," she said.

After hearing gymnasts testify before the Senate about abuse they suffered at the hands of USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal said the Federal Bureau of Investigation "became an enabler rather than an enforcer."

"We've all run out of adjectives to describe the monstrous, horrific, predatory, criminal conduct of Larry Nassar. We've run out of adjectives, but we haven't run out of action. That's what the gymnasts deserve. The criminal conduct by Larry Nassar unfortunately was not unique to him, and it was not unique to gymnastics. It was enabled by others, and others have been enabled in this kind of predatory conduct," Blumenthal said at a news conference.

"The FBI became an enabler rather than an enforcer. The FBI became part of the problem, not the solution. And I have strongly called for continuing criminal investigation, if necessary, under new jurisdictional issues, because I think justice will be done only if there is accountability here," Blumenthal said.

He said there should be another hearing, with the Department of Justice explaining why there has been no criminal prosecution.

He also thanked the gymnasts who came forward to speak, saying "they made an impact that I've rarely seen in my decade in the United States Senate."

US gymnasts McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman and others are holding a news conference alongside senators following a hearing this morning into the FBI's mishandling of the Larry Nassar investigation.

Nassar, a former USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University doctor, was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison in 2018, after more than 150 women and girls said he sexually abused them over the past two decades.

Allegations of abuse by Nassar were first brought to the FBI in July 2015.

Maroney, Raisman, Simone Biles and Maggie Nichols testified at the hearing, blasting the FBI and Justice Department's handling of their case.

Sens. Richard Blumenthal, Dick Durbin and Chuck Grassley are expected to speak, among others.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki applauded the courage of Olympic gymnasts Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, Maggie Nichols, and McKayla Maroney, who detailed the abuse they experienced at the hands of former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar in testimony on Capitol Hill Wednesday, calling their remarks “incredibly powerful.”

“All of these women who were brave and courageous and came forward and spoke about the abuse of a monstrous human being that they lived through as gymnasts, as some of the nation's top athletes—that's courageous, that's brave, they're playing a role in preventing this from ever happening again,” Psaki told reporters at Wednesday’s press briefing.

In their testimony Wednesday, the athletes said they reported the system of abuse well in advance of FBI interviews, while Raisman told members of Congress she felt “pressured by the FBI to consent to Nassar’s plea deal.”

The press secretary said President Biden "supports" the FBI taking the steps detailed in the Justice Department inspector general report released in July.

“I would note that also discussed was of course the DOJ inspector general's report, and the testimony we heard today was also about that, and the Department of Justice has said that the FBI is promptly taking the steps outlined in the report to ensure that this can never happen again, which certainly the President supports,” Psaki added during Wednesday’s briefing.

FBI Director Christopher Wray said he is "deeply and profoundly sorry" to all of the women and girl athletes whose outcries about sexual abuse at the hands of former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar were not investigated thoroughly by the agency.

"Sorry for what you and your families have been through. I'm sorry that so many different people let you down, over and over again," Wray said during his opening remarks at a Senate hearing today.

"And I'm especially sorry that there were people at the FBI who had their own chance to stop this monster back in 2015 and failed, and that is inexcusable. It never should have happened, and we're doing everything in our power to make sure it never happens again," Wray said.

A Justice Department inspector general report this summer found that two FBI agents failed to conduct a thorough investigation into Nassar. The sexual abuse continued until state prosecutors and law enforcement got involved.

Wray said the FBI has already begun implementing all of the inspector general's recommendations, including strengthening policies and procedures and training “to firmly underscore the critical importance of thoroughly and expeditiously responding to all allegations of sexual assault or abuse.”

“The American people are counting on us to get this done right every time,” Wray said. “It's my commitment to you that I, and my entire senior leadership team, are going to make damn sure everybody at the FBI remembers what happened here in heartbreaking detail.”

One of the FBI agents, W. Jay Abbott, the highest-ranking official in the Indianapolis field office, retired before the inspector general's review started. After the report concluded last month, another agent was fired.

"As for the former Indianapolis specialist in a charge, the descriptions of his behavior also reflect violations of the FBI, his longstanding code of conduct and the ethical obligations for all FBI employees, especially senior officials," Wray said in regards to Abbott.

"I will say it is extremely frustrating that we are left with little disciplinary recourse when people retire before their cases can be adjudicated. But let me be clear, people who engage in that kind of gross misconduct have no place in the FBI," he continued.

 

FBI Director Christopher Wray was asked to explain what went wrong during the bureau's investigation of the Larry Nassar abuse claims. He responded, "I don't have a good explanation."

"It is utterly jarring to me. It is totally inconsistent with what we train our people on. Totally inconsistent from what I see from the hundreds of agents who work these cases every day," he added.

Wray reiterated that an agent involved in the investigation has been fired. 

He said that the FBI agents who handled this case "betrayed core duty" of protecting people.

The Senate hearing is ongoing, with lawmakers on the judiciary committee questioning Wray and Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz.

More context: Allegations into Nassar were first brought to the agency in July 2015. Several violations of protocols led to months of delay, as captured in a scathing Justice Department inspector general report released in July.

In recent weeks, an FBI agent accused in the inspector general's report of failing to launch a proper investigation was fired by the FBI, US law enforcement officials told CNN. A supervisor who was also singled out in the IG report for violating protocol and false statements retired from the FBI in January 2018.

CNN's Tierney Sneed contributed reporting to this post.