A House investigation into the Coast Guard's handling of sexual assault cases at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy found that the service mishandled most cases from the start and leaders intentionally withheld the subsequent investigation into the crimes from Congress and the public.
Interim results of a probe launched in December 2023 by the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability into sexual assaults at the New London, Connecticut, school and cover-up of the investigation, dubbed Operation Fouled Anchor, found former Commandant Karl Schultz responsible for the decision not to release the results of the review.
In an interview with committee staff, Schultz, who served as the service's top officer from 2018 to 2022, said he decided against informing Congress, missing an opportunity for transparency, according to an update released Friday by the committee's majority Republican staff.
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"If there was an organizational failing, I think every commandant that served from that period of time, through and including me, has some, some stink on them on this issue, you know," Schultz told committee staff during an interview.
In an interview with CNN on Friday, Schultz said he made the decision because he wanted to protect victims, as well as alleged perpetrators who had been cleared of wrongdoing, from becoming political pawns.
"I knew [Congress] would see it as, 'Here's the scandal' and that they would blow it up," Schultz told CNN, the news outlet that broke the story of the decades-long mishandling of sex assault cases at the school and Operation Fouled Anchor.
"I made my decision, and I stand by that," Schultz said in the CNN interview. "There are people who feel wronged by that, and I truly in my heart feel terrible about that. But I don't think that changes my calculus."
Operation Fouled Anchor found 60 substantiated cases of rape, sexual assault and harassment at the school from 1998 through 2006. In many cases, alleged perpetrators were not investigated and remained in the service, while victims left the school and never received support, counseling or benefits.
As a result of CNN's reporting on Operation Fouled Anchor and subsequent reporting of a cover-up of a second report, a "Culture of Respect" study, the Coast Guard launched a review of its policies, practices and culture with aims to protect service members and improve morale.
The review found that the service's handling of sexual assault cases undermined trust in leadership and, while the Coast Guard had spent money and resources to study and address the issue, the efforts did not lead to substantial changes.
A Coast Guard spokesman said Monday that, as a result of the reporting and subsequent investigations, the service invested $42.5 million in fiscal 2024 to broaden its sexual assault and harassment prevention and recovery programs, overhauling training, evaluations, survey tools, policies and programs.
"Sexual assault is a crime that has absolutely no place in the Coast Guard. We are taking aggressive action to ensure that victims get the support and care they need, all allegations are thoroughly investigated, and perpetrators are appropriately held accountable," according to a statement provided to Military.com by the Coast Guard.
In the past year, Congress has held several hearings on Operation Fouled Anchor and launched its own investigations.
In the update sent to committee members Friday, Republican staff said the Coast Guard and Department of Homeland Security continue to withhold information requested by congressional investigators, which limits the committee's ability to conduct oversight and instigate reform.
The staff noted that it had received just a fraction -- 12,000 pages -- of the estimated 1.8 million pages of emails, interviews, reports and other documents generated on the issue.
"USCG prioritized institutional preservation over accountability and continues to do so," the majority party staff members wrote.
In addition to finding that leaders did not notify the proper authorities, the review found that most cases weren't handled properly and the Coast Guard Academy did not notify the Coast Guard Investigative Service of any allegations, choosing instead to handle the case internally.
When it did notify CGIS, academy leaders then ignored Coast Guard policies and took actions, such as disenrolling cadets involved in the case while an investigation was ongoing.
"The academy leadership was not notifying CGIS, and not notifying law enforcement, and not taking appropriate investigative action," former Coast Guard Investigative Service Director Michael Berkow told the majority staff, according to the interim update.
An investigation also is underway at the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General. In previous appearances before Congress, Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan has said she is waiting for the results of that review to determine who, if anyone, should be held accountable for the mishandling of reports and Operation Fouled Anchor.
In the statement, Coast Guard officials said they have complied with all congressional requests for information and are cooperating with the Homeland Security inspector general.
"These efforts will inform determinations regarding potential accountability actions and to determine appropriate next steps," the email stated.
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