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Senators Demand Feds Probe Liberty University Over Sexual Assaults

Senators Demand Feds Probe Liberty University Over Sexual Assaults

Reprinted with permission from ProPublica

Citing possible violations of federal law, three U.S. senators, including the two from Virginia, are pressing the Department of Education to investigate Liberty University's handling of sexual assault claims.

Liberty's board also voted Friday to open an "independent and comprehensive review" of the school office tasked with handling discrimination and abuse.

The review and congressional calls for a federal investigation come in the wake of ProPublica's article last month detailing how Liberty has discouraged and dismissed students who filed reports of sexual assault. Women who went to school officials to report being raped recalled being threatened with punishment for breaking Liberty's strict code of conduct. Others said that even Liberty University police officers discouraged them from pursuing sexual assault charges.

Like all universities that receive federal funds, the Virginia-based Liberty has to properly handle claims of sexual assault and violations of Title IX, the law banning colleges from discriminating on the basis of gender. Liberty students receive almost $800 million a year in federal aid.

Liberty University has not responded to requests for comment about its conduct or the senators' call for an investigation.

"Any campus policy that deters or discourages a survivor of sexual assault from speaking out and seeking justice is wrong," said Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) in a statement to ProPublica. "Students who bravely speak out deserve to be heard and to have their claims taken seriously. My office is urging the Department of Education to investigate these claims against Liberty and take appropriate action."

Kaine introduced legislation two years ago that would require colleges to have an independent advocate available to support survivors of sexual assault.

Virginia's other senator, Mark Warner, also a Democrat, likewise called on the school to "act immediately to remedy the issues alleged" and asked the Department of Education to "look into Liberty's procedures."

Sens. Bob Casey (D-PA) and Patty Murray (D-WA) also admonished the university for falling short of ensuring students' rights to a safe campus environment.

A spokesperson for Casey said, "Our staff has been in touch with the Education Department," after ProPublica's investigation. "The revelations out of Liberty University are disturbing and must be investigated."

Liberty's announcement of an independent investigation follows a rally on the school's Lynchburg campus last week that called for a comprehensive audit of the school's culture and its structures around reporting sexual assault.

Advocate Rachael Denhollander, a former gymnast whose testimony helped lead to the conviction of former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, spoke at the rally alongside 200 Liberty students and alumni. The rally coincided with an event for Liberty's board of trustees.

Students and alumni say they are not satisfied with the school's promise of a review of the office tasked with handling discrimination and abuse, arguing that the review is limited in scope and doesn't assure transparency throughout the process.

"We requested a culture, structure and policy audit, not just a review of the office," Dan Harris, an activist and current Liberty student, told ProPublica.

Liberty's press release following the board meeting noted that school President Jerry Prevo also discussed efforts to increase campus security, including the installation of up to 1,000 security cameras and blue-light emergency boxes across campus.

Meanwhile, Liberty University filed a temporary restraining order against its former chief of communications, Scott Lamb, alleging he violated school confidentiality agreements by releasing internal emails to the media.

The school is suing Lamb for the misuse of "trade secrets."

Lamb told ProPublica he was fired for raising concerns about the school's handling of sexual assaults. Lamb, who filed a lawsuit against the school last month, said Liberty has engaged in a "conspiracy of silence."

Donald Trump Jr.

Bipartisan Senate Panel Referred Trump Family Members Over Suspected Lying

Bipartisan leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee last year notified the Department of Justice that members of President Donald Trump's family and close circle "might have presented misleading testimony" to the panel during its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, the Washington Post reports.

According to the Post, then-Chairman Richard Burr (R-NC) and Vice Chairman Mark R. Warner (D-VA) referred a list of individuals, including Donald Trump Jr. and Jared Kushner to federal prosecutors after their accounts of a pre-election meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya "were contradicted by the president's former deputy campaign chairman Rick Gates" during former special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.

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Senate Republicans Kill Bill Requiring Candidates To Report Foreign Interference

Senate Republicans Kill Bill Requiring Candidates To Report Foreign Interference

Senate Democrats on Thursday attempted to pass legislation that would help protect elections from foreign interference — but were rebuffed by Republicans, who quickly blocked the attempt.

It all began when Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) tried to get the Senate to take up his bill that would legally require campaigns to go to the FBI if a foreign government or power offers information meant to influence a political campaign. The bill is in response to Russia’s nefarious interference in 2016, and is even more important in light of Trump’s admission that he wouldn’t report any attempts at foreign interference to the FBI.

But Republicans, led by Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), immediately blocked Warner’s attempt to get a vote on the bill.

“I’m deeply disappointed that the majority has rejected this request before I can even lay out why I think it’s needed,” Warner said on the Senate floor after Blackburn’s objection. “This legislation is pretty simple, it would require any campaign that receives offers of assistance from an agent of a foreign government … to report that offer of assistance to law enforcement.”

Blocking such a common-sense piece of legislation is a sign Republicans don’t care at all about Trump’s admission that he’d collude with foreign powers in 2020 if given the chance.

In fact, Republicans have been trying to defend Trump’s despicable admission — which all but invites hostile foreign powers to interfere in our democratic process.

While it’s disturbing that Republicans would object to Warner’s bill, it’s not all that surprising.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has been refusing to consider any bills related to election security — proudly calling himself the “grim reaper” as he blocks any bills passed by House Democrats. And McConnell is the one who blocked former President Barack Obama from making any forceful statement about Russia’s election interference in 2016 while it was taking place.

All in all, Republicans simply don’t care that hostile foreign powers like Russia are interfering in our elections. Because if they did, they would be doing something to stop it, rather than defending Trump’s words and sitting on their hands.

Published with permission of The American Independent. 

IMAGE: Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).

Wikileaks’ Assange Messages Fake Hannity Account With ‘News’ On Sen. Warner

Wikileaks’ Assange Messages Fake Hannity Account With ‘News’ On Sen. Warner

Reprinted with permission from AlterNet.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange wanted to provide Fox News host Sean Hannity “some news” about Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), the top Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee, which is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election.

One problem: Assange messaged a fake account, whose owner then alerted the press. Dell Gilliam, a writer from Texas, said she created the fake @SeanHannity__ account while she had the flu and was bored, according to the Daily Beast.

“I felt bad. He really thought he was talking to Sean Hannity,” Gilliam said. Assange wanted to have a conversation “on other channels” about “some news” he allegedly had to share about Warner.

A spokesperson for Warner was contacted by the Daily Beast about Assange’s allegation and dissed him in the clearest terms possible.

“Give me a break. WikiLeaks is a non-state hostile intelligence service with longstanding ties to the Russian government and Russian intelligence,” the spokesperson said.

For her part, Gilliam said the time she used posing as Hannity gave her a window into “paranoia I’d never seen before” from Hannity’s followers, who are “disturbingly angry.”

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange appears on screen via video link during a news conference at the Frontline Club in London, Britain February 5, 2016. REUTERS/Neil Hall