California Democratic Party kills transparency by hiding sexual misconduct report

California Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks announced on Wednesday that the party will keep secret the details of an investigation into sexual misconduct and discrimination allegations against former party chair Eric Bauman. On Twitter, Hicks said a full airing of the report would only “do further damage to the victims” and harm “the witnesses who came forward.”

Is this the same Rusty Hicks who declared that “the party can be more transparent” while running for his current job last year? Why can’t this powerful organization publish a redacted version of the investigation, or at least provide a clear statement of the wrongdoing it substantiated, and come clean on this shameful episode? Doing so would protect the victims, many of whom decided to go public with their stories in the wake of the #MeToo movement, while also ensuring maximum accountability.

Hiding the details doesn’t protect victims – it protects the party’s failed leadership.

In 2018, Bauman resigned after at least five party staffers came forward with allegations of assault, racial discrimination and unwanted sexual advances. Bauman’s one-time assistant, for example, alleged that Bauman performed “oral sex on him without his consent” at least three times. The party’s communications director said that Bauman groped him on a “nearly a daily basis.” Others alleged a pattern of serious misbehavior and discriminatory comments.

The party settled the allegations for a payout of at least $2.9 million, according to the Wall Street Journal. The CDP refused to confirm the figure.

Of course, there’s even more to know. Lots more. But we’ll never know exactly what happened – and why the party leaders looked the other way for so long – if Hicks buries the report.

Hicks has often cited the Democratic Party’s values when speaking about the Bauman scandal, but it appears that – despite his campaign promises – transparency is not one of them.

His announcement drew criticism from some prominent California Democrats.

“It reminds me of Gerald Ford pardoning Richard Nixon right away,” said Hilary Crosby, the CDP’s former controller. “I think it’s disgusting. They should absolutely release the investigation, and not to do that is just being part of a cover-up.”

“I support transparency and the party supports transparency, and I don’t know why the report’s being buried,” said RL Miller, a prominent CDP member who also chairs its environmental caucus.

Crosby alleged that CDP chairman Rusty Hicks’ close ties to Bauman may be clouding his judgment. Both men previously held powerful political positions in Los Angeles.

CDP officials referred all questions to Mr. Hicks’ tweets.

Are “values” just a bumper sticker slogan for the CDP’s leaders? The party mishandled the situation from the beginning, giving Bauman the top job and allowing him to do whatever he pleased. Now, by hiding the details, the party is compounding its errors.

How much donor money did the CDP lose because its leaders failed to check the impulses of its out-of-control chairman? Why did the party’s leaders fail to act despite an atmosphere in which Bauman’s flagrant violations were apparently a daily occurrence? Who knew what was happening, and when did they know it?

These are the kinds of questions that can only be answered by disclosing the investigation.

“It just makes me sick to my stomach,” said Crosby, the CDP’s former controller.

Bauman’s offenses weren’t the only problem, Crosby said, calling it a case of “people in leadership ignoring blatant bad behavior.”

The CDP is doing a massive disservice to the public, and to the rights of victims everywhere. Democrats are fully in charge of the state, and the party’s hypocritical decision to bury the report sends a chilling message. California leaders like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Sen. Kamala Harris and Gov. Gavin Newsom should uphold the Democratic Party’s vaunted values by demanding transparency.

Editor’s note: This editorial has been updated to include the call for the CDP to provide a clear statement on the investigation’s findings if it does not release a redacted version of the report.

This story was originally published April 16, 2020 at 5:00 AM.