USAGM CEO statement: Office of Special Counsel Report
Today, the Office of the Special Counsel (OSC) released its findings regarding whistleblower complaints about actions undertaken during the tenure of the former Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) between June 2020 and January 2021.
Consistent with OSC’s whistleblower procedures, in the summer of 2021, USAGM retained a team of three independent subject matter experts to conduct a review. This review, which was completely independent and outside of the management structure of USAGM, encompassed nearly 80 interviews, and thousands of documents reviewed. This report marks the end of the management review requested by the Office of Special Counsel.
This review, and the findings released today, have been independent. However, I welcome both the process and the results of this review, the findings of which I received as they were made public today.
When I became CEO in October 2022, I pledged to focus on USAGM’s mission as one of the world’s largest global media operations, with a robust editorial firewall and the highest of journalistic standards.
I also committed to meet our responsibility to both the U.S. taxpayer and our own teams. Beginning in early 2021, before my confirmation, and continuing during my tenure, the agency has advanced a comprehensive set of corrective actions and reforms to address many of the issues identified by the independent review team. We will continue this work.
On behalf of USAGM, I extend my gratitude to the Office of Special Counsel, the Department of State Office of Inspector General, the Government Accountability Office, and the independent review team.
The OSC findings can be found here: Public Files (osc.gov)
Amanda Bennett
USAGM CEO
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