DC Police Sweep Labor Secretary's Office Over Allegations Against Her Husband
Amid the Office of Inspector General's (OIG) investigation
into the alleged misconduct of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, it
appears that these issues have extended to her husband, Dr. Shawn
DeRemer.
On Friday, this hit from the New York Post was almost
immediately swept out of the news cycle by everything tariffs. The
DeRemers can thank SCOTUS for the save, at least for now.
Federal authorities have declined to
charge the husband of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer with crimes
related to the alleged sexual assault of two female staffers at the
department’s headquarters in Washington, DC, officials and sources told
The Post.
At least one of the alleged incidents occurred when Dr.
Shawn DeRemer was caught on an office security camera giving a prolonged
hug to one of the women last December, according to sources.
But prosecutors in the DC US Attorney’s Office have declined to file charges after reviewing the video footage.
“Based
upon the evidence presented to this office in relation to the video,
there is no indication of a crime,” a spokesperson for DC US Attorney
Jeanine Pirro said.
D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro
apparently failed to find a prosecutable crime. The Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) issued a statement that it does not have
prosecutorial authority in the matter. So, the OIG is back to holding
the bag for this investigation in addition to the allegations against
the Labor Secretary.
The
two female Department of Labor staffers alleged the sexual misconduct
amid a broader probe of the “hostile” work environment fostered by
Chavez-DeRemer and her senior aides, as well as other misconduct amid
her official duties, which was first exposed by The Post in January.
DC
police later visited the secretary’s office amid their own
investigation that also reviewed the footage of the purported assault
captured on camera, sources said.
POLITICO
reported that earlier in February, the District of Columbia
Metropolitan Police Department ushered out all staff from the DOL
offices and did a full search.
District
of Columbia police searched Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s
offices at the agency’s headquarters this month as part of its
investigation of sexual assault allegations against her husband, Dr.
Shawn DeRemer, according to three DOL officials.
Employees who
work in the secretary’s suite were ushered out of their offices
temporarily Feb. 5, and Metropolitan Police Department personnel entered
and looked around, according to the DOL officials, who were granted
anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation.
It
is unclear what the police were searching for or how long they stayed,
but it is unusual for a local police force to seek access to federal
property, and especially rare for them search the office of a Cabinet
official. In addition to the secretary’s own office, the suite also
includes the work stations of a number of aides and advisers who report
to her.
“LCD knew MPD was here but not why,” said one of the officials, referring to Chavez-DeRemer by her initials.
Neither
Chavez-DeRemer nor Deputy Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling was in the
office at the time of the search. A DOL spokesperson declined to
comment.
DC Metro also declined to comment. Everyone seems to be clammed up,
save for the lawyer representing the DeRemers. He, of course, is crying
foul.
“The allegations are a
complete fabrication manufactured by Labor Department insiders vying for
the Secretary of Labor’s position,” Bell said in a statement.
Chavez-DeRemer
was a fractured and unpopular pick for Labor Secretary. So, Bell's
assessment may not be off the mark. DOL has a long history of deep
statists, and the long knives would be out for anyone in a Republican
administration. Despite Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt's statement
that Chavez-DeRemer had President Trump's backing, she may well be the
first sacrificial lamb of the Trump administration.
On Sunday, the Wall Street Journal reported that DC Metro had closed the probe into Shawn DeRemer.
Detectives
from the Metropolitan Police Department’s sexual assault unit conducted
a review with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which determined no evidence
of a crime, the department said in a statement. “Based on that finding,
MPD’s investigation into this matter has concluded,” it said.
The
OIG investigation into the allegations against Chavez-DeRemer is
ongoing. However, it has been reported that Dr. Shawn DeRemer was barred
permanently from the Department of Labor building.
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