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Ellie Hall

Ellie Hall
@ellievhall

Sep 15, 2021
12 tweets
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McKayla Maroney is ANGRY, excoriating the FBI in her testimony, saying that they covered up for a child molestor for more than a year after she reported Larry Nassar's abuse

Aly Raisman, in her testimony, said the FBI's inaction and the actions of specific agents allowed Larry Nassar to victimize innocent children: twitter.com/ellievhall/sta
Ellie Hall

Ellie Hall
@ellievhall

Aly Raisman said that the failure of the FBI and gymnastics organizations served innocent children up to a pedophile "on a silver platter."
(More clips, including from Maggie Nichols, the other of the four gymnasts to testify, to come after the hearing is over. The questioning has begun.)
Raisman and Maroney tell senators that the United States Center for SafeSport, set up in response to the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017 is toothless. Raisman said that SafeSport plays "hot potato" when survivors report abuse.
When asked what accountability looks like, Maroney and Raisman stress the need for a 100% independent investigation going back decades into USA Gymnastics and the International Olympic Committee and widespread education within these organizations on preventing sexual abuse.
Before questioning moved on, Simone Biles interrupted (the first time she's spoken since her opening statement) saying that accountability also means that parties responsible in covering up the abuse should be "federally prosecuted to the full extent of the law."
When asked by Sen. Blumenthal if they knew of any gymnasts who were abused by Nassar after the FBI began investigating in July 2015, all four gymnasts said yes.
Aly Raisman: "Over 100 victims could have been spared the abuse. All we needed was one adult to do the right thing."
Maroney said that gymnast Kaylee Lorincz is present at the hearing and she was abused by Nassar after the FBI began their investigation.
These four women are answering questions and delivering heartbreaking testimony with such grace even though you can tell it's hard for them. twitter.com/ellievhall/sta
Ellie Hall

Ellie Hall
@ellievhall

Aly Raisman: "Being here today is taking everything I have. My main concern is I hope I have the energy to even just walk out of here."
Each new detail about the FBI's investigation into Nassar is worse than the one before it. Maroney says that she was exclusively interviewed by men, no female agents. Biles said that she was blindsided by agents in her first interview, "pulled into a hotel room"
The gymnasts have finished testifying. Now up: FBI Director Christopher Wray
Ellie Hall

Ellie Hall

@ellievhall
Senior Reporter @BuzzFeedNews. Investigator. A tad pedantic. Always curious. Tell me things people should know: ellie.hall@buzzfeed.com
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