WASHINGTON – The Justice Department is reconsidering its decision not to prosecute former FBI agents in the botched investigation of disgraced former USA Gymnastics physician Larry Nassar who sexually abused dozens of young athletes and women in his care, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco told a Senate Committee Tuesday.
Less than a month after four elite gymnasts provided wrenching testimony of the FBI's failure to act on their allegations against Nassar, Monaco said "new information" had emerged in the investigation and Justice's initial decision to decline prosecution against two agents, including the former special agent in charge of the FBI's Indianapolis Division, is being re-examined.
"The survivors who testified so bravely deserve better than they got from the FBI and the Justice Department," Monaco told the Senate Judiciary Committee. "There is a sense of urgency and gravity for the work that needs to be done."
The four athletes who testified last month – Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, McKayla Maroney and Maggie Nichols – slammed the FBI and the Justice Department, describing an alarming breakdown in the government's handling of abuse allegations.
“It was like serving innocent children up to a pedophile on a silver platter," Raisman told the panel in September.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., has characterized the FBI's handling of the case as "a stain" on the agency.
"The FBI failed them," Durbin said Tuesday, referring to Nassar's victims. "Our government failed them; we failed them."
In July, Justice's inspector general issued a stinging 119-page report that found Indianapolis FBI officials made false statements and failed to respond for months to early allegations that allowed Nassar to abuse dozens of additional victims.
Last month, FBI Director Wray said the supervisory special agent involved in the case, Michael Langeman, was fired. His former boss, W. Jay Abbott, who served as chief of the Indianapolis office, retired in 2018.
The inspector general's report specifically singled out Abbott for lying about the field office's handling of the Nassar allegations and for violating policy when he discussed a potential job opportunity with the U.S. Olympic Committee while the allegations against Nassar were pending.
An attorney for Abbott declined to address the Justice action Tuesday. Langeman could not be reached for comment.
On Tuesday, some lawmakers took aim at Monaco, noting that the Justice Department's failed to send a representative to last month's hearing.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said the absence represented "profound disrespect" for the plight of the victims.
"You are about three weeks too late," Cornyn said.
This is a developing story.
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