Merrick Garland, the United States Attorney General and chief of the Department of Justice, said that “new evidence” has surfaced in the ongoing review of the decision to not prosecute former officials of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who were linked to the case of Larry Nassar.
Lisa Monaco, the Deputy Attorney General, said in a statement earlier this month clarifying that the Department of Justice is overlooking “new information that has come to light”, according to reports from CNN.
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Attorney General Garland testified in front of lawmakers in the United States Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. Patrick Leahy, a member of the Democratic party and a politician from Vermont, requested an update on the FBI review.
Garland replied, “I believe Deputy Attorney General Monaco said at her hearing that we are reviewing this matter. New evidence has come to light and that is cause for review of the matters that you’re discussing”, according to reports from CNN. However, details about the new turn in the review were not disclosed in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.
“I am deeply sorry that in this case, the victims did not receive the response or the protection that they deserved,” Monaco said earlier this month as she testified during a hearing on the renewal of the Violence Against Women’s Act.
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She added, “I do want the committee, and frankly, I want the survivors to understand how exceptionally seriously we take this issue and believe that this deserves a thorough and full review”, according to reports from Associated Press.
An internal investigation by the Department of Justice released in July this year said the FBI made fundamental errors in the investigation and did not treat the case with the “utmost seriousness” after USA Gymnastics first reported the case to the federal body’s field office in Indianapolis nearly 6 years ago. The FBI has acknowledged its own conduct was inexcusable.