Bredesen Shredded Sexual Harassment Evidence To Protect Allies

As a woman and the mother of a daughter, the hypocrisy of self-proclaimed liberal men who say one thing and do another makes Marsha sick. Phil Bredesen is a coverup artist with a busy shredder.

When he was governor, he cared more about shielding the reputations of his powerful friends than protecting women.

As the Tennessean reported,

“Routine state cases are generally documented with notes or reports, and the resulting files are available for the public to review and assess whether appropriate action was taken. But when cases are routed through Gov. Phil Bredesen's office, the files are empty, are shredded or contain only one or two pages with almost no details about the accusations or how the investigations were handled” (Tennessean, 7/16/05).

Harassment claims doubled during one year in his administration.

“A review of sexual and workplace harassment records in Tennessee state government shows that reported cases are on pace to almost double this year over 2004” (Associated Press, 12/7/05).

Multiple Bredesen appointees resigned because of sexual harassment claims.

“Mack Cooper, Bredesen’s top lobbyist and chief policy adviser, resigned from state government following allegations of sexual harassment (Tennessean, 8/27/05).

State Correction Commissioner Quenton White resigned following questions about a sexual harassment allegation against him, his handling of a sexual harassment case against his executive assistant and a  relationship with a former subordinate” (Tennessean, 7/14/05).

He routinely shredded or got rid of documents that implicated his friends.

“The AP found that scores of files on harassment investigations were incomplete, missing documentation of the complaint, investigative notes and even the outcome of an investigation (Associated Press, 12/10/05). The files are considered public records under state law. 

However, there was clearly still an issue with harassment in state government, and that often complaints are ignored by a ‘good ol’ boy’ system” (Associated Press, 12/10/05).

He said “there’s nothing to be covered up here” but he continued to protect harassers.

According to the Tennessean, 

“Bredesen, in the AP interview, said that he believed the shredding was legal. ‘There's nothing to be covered up here,’ he said. He also acknowledged, ‘I don't have any way of proving that to you’” (Tennessean, 5/21/05).

“When Bredesen's office becomes involved in a complaint, as it did when the governor's top lobbyist was demoted last month, notes are purposely not taken or are shredded, or case documents are not released. When other state departments handle cases, reports are generally kept on file as public records, according to a Tennessean review of available state documents. Indeed, state harassment investigators are trained to take notes and document the facts of a case” (Tennessean, 5/21/05).

“The newspaper asked the Bredesen administration to provide the 10 most recent case files for workplace or sexual harassment reviewed by the state Personnel Department. In four cases in which the complaint was referred for investigation by the governor's office, the file was empty or contained limited documents that do not detail the problem or how the state responded. In five cases originating in other departments -- without involvement from the governor's office -- interview memos, reports or other documents were created and stored in the files provided to the newspaper. All records were withheld in one other case.” (Tennessean, 5/21/05).

The Associated Press said that complaints against his friends were “handled …more privately” others.

According to the AP,

“The AP also found that complaints made by or against high-ranking officials were investigated more thoroughly and more privately than those involving lower-level civil service employees. The higher-profile cases were usually handled by top-ranking state attorneys, while other complaints were handled by a variety of people - an assistant state commissioner, a department-level lawyer or an employee's immediate supervisor” (Associated Press, 12/10/05).

“An Associated Press review of more than 600 harassment investigation files going back to late 2002 - just before Gov. Phil Bredesen took office - found investigation procedures varied from agency to agency, and even within departments. Some investigations were handled so informally that supervisors conducting interviews jotted down responses on Post-it notes. A leading expert on sexual harassment in the workplace said this method is unforgivable for state government” (Associated Press, 12/10/05).

The Tennessean reported,

“The Governor's Office has become involved in a select number of workplace harassment complaints against top state officials and has put them under a veil of secrecy that does not apply to ordinary state workers, a Tennessean review of case files shows” (Tennessean, 7/16/05).

Worst of all, he  downplayed harassment saying “anytime you mix men and women together there are going to be issues.”

“Bredesen has said that sexual harassment is a problem in Tennessee's state government as it is in the private sector. ‘Anytime you mix men and women together in a work environment there's going to be issues,’ he said” (Tennessean, 7/16/05).

And he argued against real consequences for his friends by saying that the public embarrassment is punishment enough.

The Tennessean reported,

“Gov. Phil Bredesen, who has witnessed more than his share of controversy involving the state's higher education community, weighed in yesterday on punishment meted out Friday to Middle Tennessee State University President Sidney McPhee…Bredesen said he thought McPhee received adequate punishment on still-secret allegations of sexually harassing a female subordinate. McPhee will begin a 20-day suspension Dec. 15 and will lose $10,000 in salary for a year. Bredesen said members of the state Board of Regents, which oversees MTSU and TSU, discussed McPhee's punishment with him before acting. ‘I think the embarrassment and the punishment is certainly in the range of what I would consider appropriate, yes,’ Bredesen said” (Tennessean, 12/9/03).

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