Ron Johnson Asks Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Linda Fagan Point Blank: ‘Who Do You Report To?’
Earlier this month, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) questioned Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Linda Fagan on sexual assault oversight during a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing.
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NewsTranscript
00:00ranking member, we're going to adhere strictly to the seven minutes so that
00:05everybody gets a chance and then we'll come back for another round.
00:08Thank you, Mr. Chairman. By the way, there's an ongoing investigation is one of the
00:13primary excuses always used to prevent disclosure to Congress, so chalk that up
00:19to another one from the workshop. Commandant Fagan, did I hear you right?
00:24You testified that you've turned all the documents over the committee? We have
00:30been working in good faith with the committee, rolling production of documents.
00:34We began this process last last summer, added people and resourcing to ensure
00:39that we're able to get into a regular production of documents. This is an
00:44unprecedented undertaking for the organization. There were just short of two
00:47million pages of documents that were initially looked at with regard to
00:51potentially being responsive to the issues that the subcommittee is
00:54interested in. We have turned over 18,000 pages of documents to the
01:00subcommittee responsive to the ask. That includes 91 reports of
01:04investigation from assaults that occurred at the Coast Guard Academy.
01:09I understand that the and we have done this consistent with advice from the
01:15General Counsel, consistent with protection of victim privacy and victim
01:20dignity, witness privacy, sensitive public health information, attorney-client
01:25privilege, and the pre-deliberation or pre-decisional documents. In those cases
01:32where the committee, we've offered in-camera review. It's a standing and
01:37open offer for in-camera review. Any one of the documents that you have, we welcome
01:42the opportunity to continue to work in good faith with the committee to provide
01:46the documents. So, Bob, we haven't received all the documents. You've received...
01:52Bob, we have not received all the documents. They're still under going under
01:56review. We have completed the review. You've received all, all of those. One of the
02:02documents, and I asked you when we first met in my office, there's showed you an
02:07email. There was an attachment to that email. The attachment wasn't provided and
02:12you made the commitment to provide us that attachment. I believe what that was
02:16was an earlier version of the report, an earlier draft of the report on Operation
02:23Fouled Anchor. You committed to provide that. That has not been provided to us,
02:28correct? Well, we'll work back through your committee. I know you've got the
02:32Fouled Anchor report, the final report. Again, part of our investigation would be
02:38to see earlier drafts in terms of what, again, I view this as a cover-up. So, when
02:45you're investigating a cover-up, some of the documents you're going to want is,
02:49okay, we see the final report from a five-year investigation. You know, we're
02:56aware of the fact that that initial report, the initial draft, was 11 pages.
03:00It would be very interesting, I think, important for us to see what was cut out
03:07of that 11 pages to produce a six-page report. So, when can we expect to see the
03:12original drafts, the 11-page initial draft of the report? I continue to work
03:20with my general counsel and I'm taking advice with regard to... What excuse
03:27would be given to not turn over the initial draft of the report? If you want
03:31to be fully transparent, what could possibly prevent that from happening? I continue to work in good faith with the committee to provide
03:39documents and we'll provide... Again, good faith is always the excuse you hear. Who do you report to? I report to
03:48Secretary Mayorkas. Have you spoken to Secretary Mayorkas about this situation?
03:55Yes. What kind of interest is she shown in, let's face it, in this cover-up? This is
04:04not a cover-up. I am committed to providing documents in good faith. This
04:10is an incredible organization and we... I am committed to bringing the
04:16organization forward and making the culture change necessary and I
04:19understand that there's a responsiveness to the committee. I remain committed to
04:24that and I continue to work with my own lawyers and in the department to ensure
04:28that we are providing documents consistent with executive branch and
04:33constitutional... the constitutional process according... with regard to
04:37accommodation. Again, you have to understand I've heard this time and time
04:41again over multiple investigations. It's the same, the exact same excuses given
04:46all the time in terms of not being responsive. You talk about your two
04:51million pages. Well, we've already cut it down to somewhere between 25 and 30.
04:55You've turned over 17, but in particular, when there's a document that you request,
05:02you know, from a U.S. Senator to the Commandant of the Coast Guard and the
05:07Commandant of the Coast Guard said, yeah, we'll provide that document and it's not
05:10provided. So again, I'm not talking two million pages. I'm not talking 25,000
05:15pages. I'm talking about an 11-page initial draft of the report on an
05:23investigation that took five years. It was then covered up for a number of years and
05:30I can't get that 11 pages. We can't get that 11 pages. Why? I remain... Have you
05:37read that full 11-page draft report? I have not read the pre-decisional 11-page
05:42report. I have read the final fouled anchor report that was closed out in
05:46in February of 2020. You haven't been inquisitive enough to read the initial
05:54draft? I am focused on... There's obviously a reason I want to see it. There's
06:01obviously a reason I'm making a point of it in this hearing. I think it could be
06:06very revealing in terms of what the Coast Guard at that point in time decided
06:12we don't want to include that. That might harm our institution. That might be
06:18embarrassing. So let's leave that out. We'll give them these six pages. We'll leave
06:22these five pages out. So if I get nothing out of this hearing today is I'd like a
06:29complete commitment to show us that full 11-page draft report. If we have to
06:36review it in camera, fine. I can go read 11 pages in camera. It's a little
06:41more difficult to do another 10 or 20,000 pages. That's that's why we need
06:46these documents here. So you know we can search them. We can get them on our computer. We
06:48can search for key phrases. I mean there's there's a way you do these
06:51investigations. In-camera reviews is not a very good way of doing it. But I'll make
06:56an exception for these 11 pages. Can I get that commitment? I will commit to
06:59providing those 11 pages in camera review. Okay, thank you.
07:06Senator Hatch.