Recruiting, investigating, vetting, and training CIA (and USIC) personnel is a time-consuming process and costly to the US taxpayer, which Congress is fully aware of. This unclassified bipartisan investigation reveals that CIA leadership fails to adequately protect its female employees, part of our country’s first line of defense. Over the course of a year, 20 people testified the agency had failed to appropriately respond to sexual assault allegations; and worse, the CIA EEO discouraged victims from reporting attacks or harassment.
The entire unredacted House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) report is linked here: intelligence.house.gov/…
Extract:
"Over the course of the investigation, the [HPSCI] discovered that the CIA failed to handle allegations of sexual assault and harassment within its workforce …”
...[the HPSCI] has put in place significant legislative reforms to address failures, and we will continue to monitor progress to ensure there is no slippage in the agency's commitment to addressing sexual assault and harassment."
In one example, a female whistleblower was allegedly fired in retaliation for reporting that Ashkan Bayatpour (39) attacked her on 13 July 2022. He was later convicted of a state misdemeanor charge of assault and battery and sentenced to six months probation on 24 August 2023. Mr. Bayatpour no longer works at CIA.
CIA employs an estimated 21,575 personnel and as of 2013 its budget was $15b.
Sources: www.theglobeandmail.com/… www.dailymail.co.uk/… www.dailymail.co.uk/… www.cia.gov en.wikipedia.org/...