By Steve Neavling
The Justice Department is reviewing its previous decision not to prosecute former FBI agents who mishandled the investigation into sexual abuse allegations against disgraced gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco made the announcement Tuesday while testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee. She said Kenneth Polite, the head of the DOJ’s criminal division, “is currently reviewing this matter, including new information that has come to light,” The New York Times reports.
The review comes nearly three months after the Justice Department’s Inspector General Michael Horowitz concluded in a searing 119-page report that the FBI mishandled the investigation.
Horowitz also found that W. Jay Abbot, special agent in charge of the Indianapolis Field Office, lied to investigators about the botched investigation and his personal conflicts in the case.
Abbott retired in January 2018, and Agent Michael Langeman was fired for his role in the investigation.
“I want the survivors to understand how exceptionally seriously we take this issue and believe that this deserves a thorough and full review,” Monaco said at the hearing.
