Rutherford Backtracks, Refuses To Release Independent Investigation Of Sexual Harassment Charges

By Chuck Sudo in News on Feb 14, 2014 7:20PM

Illinois Treasurer Dan Rutherford refused to release the findings of an independent investigation of charges against him of sexual harassment and pressuring employees in his office to do political work on state time, two weeks after he held a news conference announcing the investigation would clear him of those allegations. It’s another blow to Rutherford’s gubernatorial aspirations with one month remaining before the March 14 primary.

The report was set to be released Friday but Rutherford’s spokeswoman Mary Frances Braigel told reporters the decision was made on the advice of counsel and due to the federal lawsuit filed against Rutherford by former Treasurer’s office employee Edmund Michalowski earlier this week. Chicago-based attorney Peter Andjelkovich, representing Rutherford, said the decision to shelve the report was “100 percent my doing” and said information found during the investigation would be used to fight Michalowski’s allegations in court.

Michalowski has accused Rutherford of sexually harassing him several times beginning in 2011 and routinely ordered him to do campaign work while on state time. Rutherford has vehemently denied the allegations, questioned the timing of Michalowski’s lawsuit and went as far as accusing his primary opponent Bruce Rauner of orchestrating whole thing.

But is Andjelkovich’s decision that cut and dry? Christine Svenson, Michalowski’s attorney, isn’t certain.

“(Rutherford) was in favor of the report before he was against it. Clearly he doesn’t want to produce this report and I know why. I know what the witnesses told the investigator. They corroborated my client’s testimony, and they had new evidence that no one had heard before that is not favorable to Mr. Rutherford.”

She says the report includes testimony from three Rutherford employees who say Rutherford also subjected them to uncomfortable sexual comments and asked them to do campaign work on taxpayer time.

And then there’s this:

Meanwhile, one Illinois treasurer employee who gave a statement to the independent investigator is complaining that the office would not release copies of his own statement.

“Even the Warren Commission made copies of witness statements available to witnesses when investigating the assassination of President Kennedy,” the employee wrote to the treasurer’s in-house counsel, according to a letter obtained by the Sun-Times.

“This hardly rises to the level of a grand jury investigation or the Warren Commission. This is also a very stressful time for many of our colleagues in the office. I have no desire to add to that stress by being forced to litigate or make a public request simply for access to a copy of my own statement for my records.”

The treasurer’s office would not comment, referring it to the attorney.

The decision to not release the investigation’s findings means the allegations will continue to dog Rutherford in the weeks leading up to the primary.