Labor Chief’s Husband Accused of Sexually Assaulting Staff (1)

Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s husband is being investigated by Washington, DC, police after at least two female staffers accused him of sexual assault at the agency’s headquarters, a person familiar with the situation has confirmed.

The allegations against Shawn DeRemer, first reported Thursday by the New York Times, come as the secretary faces her own misconduct investigation from the Labor Department’s inspector general.

According to the person familiar with the allegations, Shawn DeRemer was banned from the DOL’s Frances Perkins Building following allegations that he inappropriately touched the staffers who work in the secretary’s office.

The inspector general conducted a search of the office in late January and DC’s Metropolitan Police Department did another in early February where they recovered security camera footage related to the allegations, the person said.

The New York Post first reported late Friday that US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro’s office declined to charge Shawn DeRemer.

“Based upon the evidence presented to this office in relation to the video, there is no indication of a crime,” a spokesperson for the US Attorney said in a Saturday statement to Bloomberg Law.

MPD received a complaint on Jan. 24 of an alleged sexual assault on Dec. 18 at the Labor Department building. The complaint, obtained by Bloomberg Law, doesn’t name the alleged victim.

An MPD spokesperson on Friday declined to name suspects, but said the case remains an active investigation by the sexual assault unit.

The police department representative, however, didn’t immediately respond Saturday to a follow-up request for comment on whether the investigation still remains active following the US Attorney’s decision.

Representatives for the Labor Department and the White House didn’t respond to requests for comment on the underlying allegations against DeRemer. However, the Trump administration so far has maintained support for the labor secretary.

Shawn DeRemer is an anesthesiologist with his own practice in Oregon.

Controversy has plagued the secretary’s office after Chavez-DeRemer was accused of having an affair with a department staff member and alleged to have fabricated official work trips so she could spend time with family and friends. She also allegedly took staff members to a strip club in Portland, Ore.

The labor secretary’s chief of staff, deputy chief of staff, and bodyguard have been placed on leave amid the investigation of her conduct.