Former US Attorney Amanda Marshall critical of federal investigation

Former U.S. Attorney for Oregon Amanda Marshall fired back for the first time Thursday, openly criticizing an investigation into sexual harassment that led to her resignation last year.

The U.S. Justice Department released the full - though heavily redacted - investigative report on Thursday in response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by The Oregonian/OregonLive.

The full report came after the agency's Inspector General announced last month that its office found Marshall had sexually harassed an assistant U.S. attorney with whom she'd had a yearlong "intimate personal relationship." The June report, a summary of the investigation, also concluded that Marshall lied to investigators and tried to block the inquiry.

In response, Marshall's attorney Allison Martin Rhodes wrote Thursday that her client only initially was dishonest about the relationship and never attempted to block the investigation.

"Ms. Marshall recognizes and reiterates that it was inappropriate for her to have an affair with an Assistant U.S. Attorney, even if it was another senior lawyer in the office whom she did not directly supervise," Rhodes wrote in an emailed statement.

"Indeed, the OIG report's inaccurate depiction of nearly every aspect of the complex on-again off-again personal relationship here and the other lawyer's role in that relationship reflects that very point."

In March 2015, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported that investigators had begun reviewing allegations that Marshall had constantly texted and emailed Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott M. Kerin.

Marshall, who became Oregon's top federal prosecutor in late 2011, took a leave of absence that month, citing health reasons that included post-traumatic stress disorder. She officially resigned on May 15, 2015.

Marshall, 47, is now in private practice in McMinnville.

While the federal investigation did not recommend any further action by the justice department, the Oregon State Bar is investigating whether Marshall committed misconduct in her former role.

An attorney can be publicly reprimanded, suspended - from 30 days to five years - or disbarred. The bar also can offer probationary requirements to allow an attorney to keep his or her license active or to alter the length of the suspension. Marshall's original deadline to respond to the bar's investigation was July 11, yet she was granted an extension through Aug. 1.

The 12-page federal report released Thursday redacted Kerin's name but noted that he told investigators he had reported Marshall's behavior because "he had difficulty sleeping and eating, was distracted and unfocused at work, and was concerned about losing his job." He also said that Marshall continued to contact him after he'd told her to stop, which investigators said conflicted with information provided by Marshall.

"When interviewed by the OIG, without benefit of having reviewed the messages the OIG had gathered," the report stated, "Marshall insisted he, 'never once told me, go away. Leave me alone. Don't ever contact me again. Never, never, never.'"

The report stated that Marshall was Kerin's supervisor and "because of Marshall's position as the head of the office, it is difficult to characterize any unacknowledged personal relationship with a subordinate as entirely consensual."

Marshall also participated in an interview of Kerin for job promotion but recused herself from the selection process.  Marshall told investigators that she worried he might sue her if he didn't get the job, but that she also was concerned other applicants might later sue if she did promote him.

The concerns, the investigator wrote, "demonstrated precisely the issues raised when a supervisor engages in an unacknowledged relationship with a subordinate."

Kerin was ultimately promoted.

Marshall's attorney wrote Thursday that while her client respected the Inspector General's decision to redact various sections, she felt "the context of his actions are not fairly represented and certain conclusions reached are unfounded."

The report outlined how Marshall had attended a new-employee orientation and various trainings at which sexual harassment was discussed. Also, federal Associate Deputy Attorney General David Margolis, who first contacted Marshall about the harassment allegation, stated that he had emphasized at such trainings that "a romantic relationship is a capital offense."

Marshall had been startled when Margolis first called her - with two others on the line - to ask about the alleged sexual relationship, according to her attorney's statement.

"She reacted impulsively to being asked about highly personal sexual activity without warning," Rhodes wrote. "Not surprisingly, the OIG report does not find that anyone was misled by her momentary lapse of candor."

The report illustrates that after the initial call, Marshall was "more direct and honest" about the situation, her attorney wrote. She also said Marshall "never impeded or intended to impede" the investigation or "engaged in any retaliatory action against the other lawyer."

"I deeply regret my decisions in this matter and the role that I played," Marshall herself wrote in an emailed statement. "I want people to understand that I worked hard every day as the U.S. Attorney to do my best and always put the interests of the people of the United States first."

Laura Gunderson

503-221-8378

@lgunderson

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