BREAKING NEWS: John Kennedy Reads Aloud Jaw-Dropping Claims Of Misconduct And Harassment At FDIC

I want to talk Madame President about a topic I hate to talk about it's um it's very unpleasant but uh it's unne it's necessary that that we uh that we talk about this some of my colleagues want it to go away but it's not going away I thought Madame President that we had all agreed that sexual predators and bigots are not not welcome in America's workplaces um we've all heard of the me too movement the me too movement President Biden endorsed it many of my colleagues have actively supported it as have I the me too movement reminded us all that America is no place for creepy old men who sexually harass and demean their employees I thought we had agreed to that I don't remember remember seeing any exceptions in the me too movement for President Biden's appointees to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation we call it the FDIC there's not supposed to be a carve out for bigots and perverts at the FDIC to harass their co-workers when they're supposed to be regular ating America's Banks so why hasn't why hasn't President Biden shown FDIC chairman Mr Martin grinberg and his leadership team the door why hasn't he fired them based on the latest report from the agency not a single Biden uh guantee should keep his or her job at the FDIC now Mr grunberg released a statement a few minutes ago he didn't say he resigned he said he's prepared to resign as soon as his successor is confirmed by the United States Senate in the meantime he's going to continue on as FDIC chairman it triggers my gag in Flex I mentioned this report this report 234 Pages it was done by a law firm called clear got Le at the request of the FDIC the FDIC and Mr grunberg were for to ask for this report because the Wall Street Journal published a series of AR of Articles uh about the U the sex capades at the FDIC and the FDIC leadership was forced to respond Clary Gart Le issued this report I was very suspected at first because Mr grinberg and others had picked clearly got Le to do it but after the report's been issued and I've had a chance to read it it's clear to me that the law firm as it should have pulled no punches the report tells us that nearly one in 10 employees one in 10 at the FDIC has experienced sexual harassment racial discrimination verbal abuse or other inappropriate behavior while working at the agency I want you to listen to this I hate to have to say it but but I want the American people to understand what's been going on under Mr grinberg's leadership at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation this is what the report told us one Hispanic employee told investigators with the clear E gotle Law Firm that his FDI supervisor made him recite the Pledge of Allegiance at work to quote prove that they were American another FDIC employee reported that her supervisor told her quote you're a mother you don't belong in the workplace end quote the report goes on one senior FDIC official who had a reputation for visiting brothels during his work trips isn't that special sent his coworker a photograph of his penis another senior FDIC official who allegedly was thrown out of a strip club during a work trip because he grop the dancers this official the same day asked his female coworker quote does your husband eat you an FDIC field officer pursued sexual relationships with several female employees including a student intern another employee reported that a former FDIC executive quote grabbed her and rubbed himself on her after a papy hour my God one female employee counted more than 6 years of persistent sexual harassment from a senior FDIC Bank examiner she said the examiner continuously sent her disturbing text messages including one that said quote get naked the employee said the behavior bordered on the edge of stalking you think look I could go on for hours here I'm not sure my stomach can stand it in total there's 6,000 workers at the FDIC in total more than 500 reported misconduct by their bosses creepy old men they reported 145 incidents of sexual harassment 436 reports of gender sexuality or race-based discrimination and 320 incidents of verbal abuse and bullying the investigators in this report noted that many of these employees had never previously reported the harassment because the employees at the FDIC had a real and widespread fear of retaliation from the agency's management the FDIC employees who did report Through The Years who did report their harassment to the agency quickly realized that it was a mistake and a waste of time from 2015 to 2020 3 92 Brave employees directly reported incidents and instances of harassment or abuse to the agency good for them the the management the FDIC didn't fire or demote or dock the pay of a single creep because of these reports in fact the FDIC often punished the victim rather than the Predators they would move the victims from the victim's job not the Predator the Predator got to stay the victims were moved didn't matter if they were experienced didn't matter if the victim enjoyed his or her job they had to move because a creep was molesting them in fact when a male examiner called his colleague quote a grizzly bear with tits close quote the FDIC relocated the woman instead of the man who made the comment again I'm I'm I'm sorry to do this but I'm just reciting the details of just eight of the hundreds of reports of harassment at the FDIC now FDIC chairman Mr Martin gerberg he's been at a top official at the FDIC for two decades as the FDIC has devolved into what apparently is a hellscape for its employees Mr grunberg has been chairman of the FDIC for 10 of the last 13 years he started at the agency in 20 05 Mr grunberg didn't just supervise the harassment at the fdsc according to the report he participated in it according to Mr grinberg's employees chairman grunberg repeatedly quote disrespected disparaged and mistreated end quote his staff not the Predators but his staff that was trying to help him manage the agency according to the report Mr grinberg would berate them threaten to fire them participate in quote embarrassing and inappropriate close quote group chats with them and throw temper tantrums where he'd throw papers his staff prepared for him against the wall one of his loyal staff members told investigators quote in my entire career of 35 years in my entire career of 35 years I've never had anybody treat me like that reports of chairman grinberg's abusive Behavior Reigns from 2007 to just last year showing that he's been a menace to his employees for as long as anyone just about as long as anyone can remember yet when my friends in the House of Representatives asked him if he had ever been formerly accused of abuse you know what he said he seemed to forget that he was the target of an abuse allegation he said no he had to go back and later correct the record to confirm that he was Mr grunberg didn't just struggle with holding himself responsible for bad behavior but he also refused to hold others accountable too he even handpicked a known abuser he picked one of these creepy old men someone whose Outburst had cost the FDIC more than $100,000 bucks in a settlement for a key promotion to serve as the fdic's general Council employees told investigators that they expect chairman grinberg's leadership team to quote pay promote or move close quote the serial Predators within the FDC it's all in the report Mr grunberg has not once not once taken responsibility for his failed leadership he said he was sorry but he's never taken responsibility when he was speaking with the investigators who compiled this report Mr gerberg denied every single solitary allegation now the role of the investigators was not to advise the FDIC about whether Mr grunberg and his leadership team should resign but if you read the report 200 plus Pages it's clear what they think the investigator said Mr grinberg's quote apparent inability or unwillingness to recognize how others experience certain difficult interactions with him would make it difficult I would use the word imp possible for him to restore the FDIC to something that resembles a respectable workplace chairman grunberg is far from the only bad apple at the FDIC that much is clear from the report not everyone is a Bad Apple at the FDIC there are many employees who are very good employees there but not all of them and they've been getting away with this for years every in my opinion after you read this report you would conclude that everyone in Senior Management either knew of the gross disgusting and bigoted behavior and did nothing or they' proven themselves to be such incompetent leaders that they don't deserve to oversee a pet goldfish my much less a federal agency if the executives at the FDIC had any sense of decency they would resign today not issue some some weeny statement that yeah I know things are bad at the FDIC and I'll consider resigning as soon as the Senate confirms my successor but I'm going to continue on in the meantime that's the statement that Mr grunberg issu and you know what we've heard out of the Biden White House nothing zero zil NADA if I could fire Mr grunberg I would but the only person who can fire Mr gerberg is President Biden yet no one at the White House wants to talk about this no one seems interested in firing chairman grunberg or demanding his resignation instead and President Biden had won't even address it he sent a spokesman spokeswoman out to uh to suggest that President Biden has not fired Mr G grber because quote chairman grunberg apologized and has committed to the recommendations that have been provided by the independent report let me get this straight chairman grunberg is going to implement the recommendations which investigated the abuse while he was chairman of the FDIC well let's take a look at a few of the recommended changes that president Biden thinks chairman grinberg is qualified to implement one recommendation that the report includes says that the FDIC must work to protect the victims of sexual harassment discrimination and bullying you think how is Mr grinberg who issued a statement today saying well I might resign soon as the Senate confirms my successor how is Mr grber who's proven for more than two decades that he has no interest in protecting his employees supposed to get that job done he won't even admit that he's a bully how does the White House think he's going to recognize and deter other bullies and predators another recommendation in the report is to enact a culture transformation a culture transformation within the FDIC the investigators recommended that the board of the FDIC hire an individual to oversee this transformation I thought that's why we had a chairman I thought that's why we had a chairman if Mr grinberg's past hiring decisions or any indication he and the board will probably promote the agency's top pervert to the Post the most important recommendation the investigators made in my view is that the FDIC must hold leadership accountable for their harassment does President Biden really believe does he really believe that chameron grunberg is going to hold himself accountable are the dozens of creepy old men that the chairman is protected for decades put down the bong woodn't firing Mr grunberg and every other bigot or predator in Senior Management if the FDIC be the obvious first step in holding leadership accountable for this abuse as one employee put it allowing Mr grunberg to oversee improvements to the fdic's cult culture is like quote fox foxes guarding the hen housee I'd put it in another way it's like asking Alec Baldwin to teach a course on gun safety Mr grunberg and every single member of Senior Management ought to hide their heads in a bag the me too movement ought to mean something and and frankly the the White House should hide its head in a bag I don't read I don't read an exception to moral order in the me too movement for the FDIC because Mr gerberg happens to be of a particular party the same party as the presidents these folks ought to quit and they ought to quit today and if they don't President Biden should fire them anything sort of firing them will show that President Biden condones this Behavior the FDIC employees and there're many good ones they're only responsible for making sure that our banks are secure in the wealthiest and most powerful country in all of human history those FDIC employees deserve a professional workplace they deserve a workplace where they can do their jobs with dignity and young women don't deserve to be sexually harassed and sent pictures of their boss's genitors the taxpayers deserve this too and the banks being examined deserve this as well you know when President Biden took office in 2021 I remember in one of his press conferences I don't know how the subject came up but uh the subject of appropriate workplace conduct came up and President Biden correctly said that he would fire on the spot any appointee who disrespected other members of his staff those are the president's words on the spot and he told his appointees that he expected them to do the same the evidence Madame President is plentiful that chairman grunberg disrespected his staff and allowed a toxic culture to bloom at the FDIC he should resign he should resign immediately it's time to clean house at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Madam president I yield the floor

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Length: 23min 50sec (1430 seconds)

Published: Mon May 20 2024