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WASHINGTON – A day when the nation was immersed in the testimony of Christine Blasey Ford and Supreme Court candidate Brett Kavanaugh, a similar dynamic was at stake in a hearing in the House of the Federal Director of Housing Finance , Mel Watt.
Watt is accused of sexually harassing Simone Grimes, an agency employee, and denying her a pay raise. This is one of the many scandals that have rocked the agency. FHFA Inspector General Laura Wertheimer is also being investigated for allegedly pressuring Watt to reduce her oversight of the agency.
The hearing before the House Financial Services Committee was originally scheduled to review other FHFA critics, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the CEOs of the two real estate mortgage giants were called to testify. But Grimes' testimony and Watt's disputed denials of impropriety eclipsed the hearing, when members of both parties took the FHFA director to task for his alleged behavior.
Grimes, the first witness, not only described doubts about Watt, but also about the agency's culture under his leadership and Wertheimer's reaction to his allegations.
"I would like to say that it is difficult to come forward. I will not underestimate the difficulties and obstacles I have encountered, "Grimes said.
Watt, whose term ends in January but was forced to resign earlier, insisted that he had not crossed the line with Grimes and strongly disputed the charges against him, sometimes with anger.
"I am satisfied that the resolution of the" judicial process "will confirm, as I have already stated, that I have not taken any action or committed any conduct involving Ms. Grimes that would be contrary to law," said Watt.
Here are four points to remember from the audience:
Watt believes that FHFA's anti-harassment policy does not apply to him
In a provocative testimony, Watt accused the committee of allowing Grimes to appear and said in his opening statement that he "was not informed until two days ago that the hearing would have involved the charges. Ms. Grimes or as a witness. . "Grimes was not invited to testify until Tuesday.
"I am a big supporter of the #MeToo movement," he said, "but that can not be a substitute for the court process. To be honest, this committee can not do that legally. "
However, the committee's representative, Maxine Waters, D-Calif., Retreated, saying that while the committee's policy was not to allow a witness to take legal action, the times were changing. .
"Although this has been the regular agenda … it's a different day and a different time," she told Watt. "What women have understood is that many of the processes put in place are unfavorable to them."
Watt summarized his defense of Grimes' allegations in two ways. While Grimes recorded conversations in which Watt heard inappropriate comments, Watt testified that their involvement never included physical intimacy.
"More specifically, we have never held hands, kissed or engaged in sexual activity," he said.
In addition, Watt stated that as director of the agency, he was not covered by his anti-harassment policy.
"If it's determined that something is wrong, no one in the agency has the power to take action against me," he said. But, he adds, "to be clear, I am not above the law."
The audience questioned the culture of the FHFA under Watt
During the Grimes Committee's interrogation, the Watt accuser described a toxic workplace culture at FHFA. She recounted her colleagues' concerns that the agency's superiors used fear as a tactic and said that talented employees left after not having opportunities for advancement. She added that the culture has worsened since her allegation of sexual harassment became public.
Before Watt took the reins of the agency in 2014, the FHFA was a "dynamic and dynamic workplace," Grimes said.
"The actions of Director Watt … have served to shake the culture of pride et integrity that existed at FHFA," she said.
When the agency issued a statement intended to reinforce FHFA's ethics policies, Grimes said it was viewed by employees as a "joke."
"Other employees shared with me the fact that the work environment has become hypocrisy," she said.
Representative Ann Wagner, R-Mo., Asked Grimes if the FHFA culture had an impact on upward mobility, to which she responded, "Absolutely, for many bright and talented women".
"The answer and the comments I heard were that it had a deterrent effect," she said.
Grimes also claimed that the agency's human resources department was "particularly useless" in addressing his concerns about Watt.
As Watt is in people's chain of command, Grimes says she's showing up, she asked if she could introduce herself to someone while the sexual harassment investigation was going on. but was told that it was not possible four times.
"I felt trapped, as if my back was against the wall, because I had been brought to him as a decision maker," Grimes said.
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