Senators ask FBI to investigate whether former Olympic CEO lied to panel

Two senators are reportedly requesting the Department of Justice and FBI to investigate if former U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Scott Blackmun lied to a Senate panel in written testimony regarding how he handled sex-abuse allegations against Larry Nassar.

As former CEO, Blackmun told lawmakers in June that he followed proper protocol in consulting with officials after learning of Nassar’s sexual abuse of young girls and women as doctor for USA Gymnastics, according to The Associated Press.

But a report released Monday following an independent investigation found Blackmun and other officials said nothing after first hearing about Nassar.

{mosads}According to the report, officials at the U.S. Center for SafeSport were first notified by media reports 14 months after Blackmun learned of the allegations of abuse.

Sens. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) requested that the FBI and attorney general look into whether Blackmun made “materially false statements contained in his written testimony to the Subcommittee during the course of the Subcommittee’s investigation,” according to the Colorado Springs Gazette.

The U.S. Olympic Committee has seen a widespread shakeup as fallout from the Nassar saga continues.

Blackmun resigned in February and the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) fired its chief of sports performance Alan Ashley on Monday after the indecent report came out.

Departing Olympic Committee board chairman Larry Probst told the Gazette that the board had yet to look at the senator’s request and said “it is not appropriate for us to comment at this time on that matter.”

Nassar was sentenced in January to up to 175 years in prison for sexually abusing women and girls while he was a doctor for Michigan State University and for USA Gymnastics. More than 150 women testified against Nassar, describing instances where he had abused them during their time at Michigan State or on the Olympic team.