Suzannah Hoover / DCist/WAMU
More than half of the D.C. Council’s members — including almost all of the women — are calling for an independent investigation into accusations that a former deputy mayor and close confidante of Mayor Muriel Bowser sexually harassed subordinates. Many of the lawmakers say the current internal investigation that confirmed some of those accusations may not have delved deeply enough into whether broader workplace issues may have existed.
The statements from the lawmakers come in the wake of the publication of a four-page summary of the investigation into former deputy mayor John Falcicchio, who left the D.C. government in mid-March amidst accusations from two women that he had sexually harassed them. The investigation into the first woman’s claims found that Falcicchio had made sexual advances, exposed himself to her, and sent her thousands of “sexually-charged” messages. An investigation into the second woman’s accusations is ongoing.
Despite the fact that the city-led investigation substantiated some of the first woman’s accusations, a number of lawmakers said that given Falcicchio’s senior positions in the D.C. government — he also served as Bowser’s chief of staff, and played a role in all her re-election campaigns — an internal investigation into the accusations may not suffice to uncover broader workplace culture issues.
“Beyond the disgusting and severe harassment detailed in the report, the survivor also reported being demoted,...
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