FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 24, 2023
MEDIA CONTACT
Radim Dragomaca, [email protected]
Whistleblower Aid Applauds Senator Marco Rubio’s Hold on Eric Garcetti’s Nomination for U.S. Ambassador to India
Organization Urges Senate Foreign Relations Committee to Stop Troubled Nomination Advancing to full Senate
Washington, D.C., February 24, 2023 – Whistleblower Aid, which has led the charge in demonstrating how former Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti covered up sexual harassment and abuse in his office and lied about it under oath, welcomed Senator Rubio’s announcement today that he is putting a hold on Garcetti’s nomination as U.S. Ambassador to India.
Rubio sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which is set to question Garcetti on Tuesday, February 28 for the second time since his name was originally put forward for the Indian post in July 2021 – a time lag of close to 600 days.
With Garcetti’s nomination continuing to trouble Senators on both sides of the aisle, Whistleblower Aid CEO Libby Liu issued the following statement:
“Senator Rubio’s hold shines a spotlight on the reasons why Eric Garcetti’s nomination has already created an unprecedented two-year vacancy in New Delhi. The clear record of Garcetti enabling sexual harassment at City Hall in Los Angeles and his attempts to strongarm the US Senate into overlooking these failures is disqualifying. Whistleblower Aid urges all members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to thoroughly question Garcetti concerning these matters at Tuesday’s hearing. The Committee should be aware that the last time they questioned Garcetti on his knowledge of sexual harassment in his office, he perjured himself in his attempt to evade accountability and advance his nomination. That bad faith, on its own, is grounds for the Committee to stop the nomination moving forward. It is disappointing that the Administration continues to put Garcetti’s ambitions ahead of the vital US-India relationship, which would be better served by a qualified nominee with a clear record of ethical leadership and relevant diplomatic expertise.“
Read Senator Grassley’s investigation into Eric Garcetti here.
###Whistleblower Aid is a non-profit legal organization in Washington, D.C. supporting individuals who lawfully report government and corporate law breaking. It provides assistance to individuals in the United States and abroad seeking to disclose illegal conduct, including misconduct relating to government officials, securities fraud, sexual violence, and violations of tax, labor or environmental laws. In recent years Whistleblower Aid lawyers have represented Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen and the Ukraine whistleblower whose disclosures led to the first impeachment of President Trump.
