A new report released on Monday evening outlined claims of sexual harassment and assault allegedly committed by a top aide of Los Angeles Democrat Mayor Eric Garcetti — a top member of Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden’s vice presidential search committee.
Journalist Yashar Ali highlighted the allegations against Rick Jacobs in an exclusive report featured in his newsletter.
One aspect of the report that has been buried by the national news media is the fact that Garcetti, Jacobs’ boss, served in a top role on the Biden campaign and is reportedly being considered for a position in a Biden administration — if Biden wins in November.
1. The Mayor of Los Angeles @ericgarcetti witnessed his top aide Rick Jacobs assault and sexually harass people for years and not only did he not take action against Jacobs, he would often laugh it off. https://t.co/icvQYPOmzl pic.twitter.com/0XSY9UMJb8
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) October 20, 2020
“In January 2020, before the Iowa Caucuses, Garcetti endorsed Joe Biden for president. He went on to serve as a co-chair of Biden’s vice presidential search committee, responsible for vetting potential candidates and advising Biden on a pick,” Ali reported. “Garcetti has repeatedly been floated as a potential Cabinet member in a Biden administration.”
Ali highlighted the following allegations that were made against Jacobs [emphasis added]:
This summer, a 23-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department filed a lawsuit against the city. Officer Matthew Garza, who had served on the security detail that protects Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, alleged that one of Garcetti’s top aides, Rick Jacobs, routinely assaulted and harassed him—and that Garcetti had witnessed the assault and harassment and did nothing to stop it, nor hold Jacobs accountable. …
The allegations laid out in Garza’s complaint sounded familiar to me because, over the course of a decade, from 2005 through 2015, Jacobs used to forcibly kiss me on the lips when I encountered him through my previous work in politics. After Garza’s lawsuit became public, I confronted Jacobs via text message and also alerted one of Garcetti’s top city hall aides about my past experiences with Jacobs.
More recently, I’ve discovered others who have had similar encounters with Jacobs. …
Despite leaving his city position in 2016 and no longer holding a formal role in any city or campaign entity controlled by Garcetti—and despite Garza’s lawsuit—Jacobs is still considered the mayor’s top adviser, sources say. …
Garza alleges in his lawsuit that from 2014 to 2019, while he was on the mayor’s security detail, Jacobs subjected him to a barrage of sexual harassment and assault. In his complaint, Garza says that Jacobs would make inappropriate comments about sex with younger men, male genitalia and how he would engage in rough sex. On multiple occasions, according to Garza, Jacobs would say in his presence: “You guys ready to f*** without KY?”
On other occasions, Garza alleges in his complaint, Jacobs would ask him to sit on his lap. Garza also says that Jacobs would forcefully hug him without consent and tell him, “You’re so strong and handsome” and “Your muscles are so tight.” He would often massage Garza’s shoulders without consent, Garza says.
Garcetti was often present for Jacobs’ harassment and assault, Garza says in his complaint, noting that “Mayor Garcetti was present on many, if not most of the occasions when Jacobs made sexually inappropriate comments, but the Mayor took no action to stop the comments from being made or even identify the comments as being inappropriate. On some occasions, the Mayor would laugh at Jacobs’ crude comments.”
Garza says that on more than a dozen occasions, Garcetti staffers apologized to him for Jacobs’ conduct.
But Garza isn’t the only one who says he has been treated this way. Two sources told me that Jacobs grabbed them without consent and forcibly kissed them at fundraisers in front of Garcetti. The mayor’s reaction? To watch and then laugh it off as he continued to greet people.
The Biden campaign has not addressed the allegations made in Ali’s newsletter.
UPDATE: The Biden campaign removed Garcetti from a virtual conversation that he was set to moderate today following Ali’s story.
NEWS: LA Mayor @ericgarcetti was set to moderate a virtual conversation for the Biden campaign today, but after my story was published about the way he handled the sexual misconduct of his top aide, the campaign removed him from the event
Read My Story: https://t.co/mI4bdcPP05 pic.twitter.com/YDsDcKr3wC
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) October 20, 2020