The Department of Justice is the latest government branch under fire for sexual misconduct.
Liz Wolfe, Managing Editor at Young Voices says that the detailed allegations, which surfaced in a recent Washington Post report, resembled accusations against prominent public figures such as Harvey Weinstein.
“It found just tons and tons of issues in the Justice Department, of all places,” she said. “They had complaints of male employees stalking female employees, male employees spying on women who were breastfeeding, who were pumping in their offices.”
The Office of the Inspector General released a review of the Department’s Civil Division’s mishandling of sexual harassment in May this year. The watchdog found that there were weaknesses in the way that the Civil Division tracked, reported, and investigated 11 sexual harassment misconduct claims between 2011 and 2016. It also found that employees under review were promoted or given awards.
While the Justice Department says it will change its processes, Wolfe says she’s hopeful that it will, but she’s not “super optimistic.”
“They say they are, but it’s kind of tough,” she said. “It seems like it’s only now that we’re really looking at this from a new light, that we’re paying attention to it, that these things are actually coming out.”
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/department-of-justice-inspector-general-says-agency-has-systemic-problem).
The Biden administration will significantly loosen federal mask-wearing guidelines to protect against COVID-19 transmission on Friday, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Russian President Vladimir Putin openly invaded the neighboring country of Ukraine on Thursday following weeks of overtures and discussions on keeping an incursion from happening. David Salvo, the deputy director for the Alliance for Securing Democracy, joined Cheddar to go into the Russian leader's motivations. "What I'm sure he understands is that his invasion of Ukraine in 2014 probably ended the discussion of Ukraine joining NATO, even if publicly we won't admit that, that's just the reality. And I'm sure that President Putin understands that," he said, noting that Putin could be using the taking of Ukraine territory as leverage to gain more security concessions from the West.
Following Russia's incursion into Ukraine, the U.S. is warning businesses and major banks to brace themselves for cyberattacks. Lester Munson, a senior fellow at the National Security Institute, joined Cheddar News to break down what this means for financial institutions “So we need to be concerned about not just intentional Russian hacks against American entities but also what Russia is doing in Ukraine. Those things can impact us as well," he said
After weeks of talks and posturing in hopes of staving off an attack, Russia invaded Ukraine on Thursday, an incident that has already impacted the global economy, including the U.S.. Jason McMann, head of geopolitical risk analysis for Morning Consult, joined Cheddar’s Closing Bell to break down what investors might do to prepare themselves as the crisis continues. "I think there are a few things that we have our eye on over at Morning Consult that could cause the situation to become a bit more severe or unstable as far as market outcomes would be concerned," McMann said. "One of those things would be if the U.S. and the EU kind of moved in concerted fashion to block Russia from the SWIFT transaction system. So, I would say that's one thing that would be worth keeping an eye on."
Alex Walker, candidate for Colorado's 3rd Congressional District, joins Cheddar News to discuss why he's running against Lauren Boebert and the inspiration behind his viral campaign ad.
Lisa Hagen, politics reporter for U.S. News and World Report, joins Cheddar News to preview what to expect from President Biden's State of the Union Address on March 1.
