Thursday, March 08, 2018

With Tooke’s resignation, scandal continues to burn the U.S. Forest Service

Months before U.S. Forest Service Chief Tony Tooke abruptly resigned, his superiors at the Agriculture Department were made aware of the scandal that brought an end to Tooke’s 30-year career. As early as September, the office of Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) informed Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue’s office of a letter from a Forest Service retiree who wrote that Tooke wasn’t deserving of the post he was appointed to by Perdue the month before. Isakson’s office confirmed its receipt of the letter Thursday, a day after Tooke tendered his immediate resignation following a “PBS NewsHour” report that he was under investigation for improper behavior. A spokeswoman for Isakson would not reveal the letter’s contents, but Energy and Environment News and the Daily Caller each reported that it claimed that Tooke offered a newly created staff position to a woman with whom he was having an extramarital affair when he worked at an office in Florida. Agriculture officials appointed an independent investigator to look into the claim. The accusation against a top official is especially stinging because the agency is investigating dozens of harassment claims, particularly from women in its firefighting division. PBS, as well as The Washington Post, interviewed women who claimed that they had been raped, spied on while showering, groped, berated, pressured to quit and retaliated against for reporting abuses. During the reporting of both stories, women firefighters who spoke to reporters later rescinded their comments for fear of losing their careers...more

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