Coast Guard's top officer withheld a report on academy sexual assaults from Congress
The Coast Guard's internal 'Operation Fouled Anchor' review, with a final report dated January 31, 2020, examined 102 reports of rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment at the Coast Guard Academy from 1990 to 2006 and identified 63 potential victims. It found the academy knew of accusations against 30 of 43 people, but only five were reported to criminal investigators. Congress learned of the review in June 2023 after CNN reported on it. House and Senate investigations released in December 2024 found that then-Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz decided in fall 2018 to withhold the review. Schultz told House lawmakers 'I own that exclusively', saying he wanted to protect victims and cleared individuals and feared Congress would politicize the information; he denied to CNN that the decision was a cover-up. Sen. Richard Blumenthal described the matter as a 'cover-up' that was 'deliberate and purposeful'. The Coast Guard said it is working to prevent these crimes and support survivors.
Two separate congressional investigations found retired Adm. Karl Schultz made the decision during his tenure as Coast Guard commandant to conceal an embarrassing internal review of the mishandling of sexual misconduct among cadets at the service's academy... The Coast Guard conducted the Fouled Anchor investigation for six years and issued a final report on Jan. 31, 2020, which found the academy knew of accusations against 30 of 43 people, but only five were reported to criminal investigators.
Former Coast Guard chief Karl Schultz told CNN he made the decision to withhold the Fouled Anchor report from Congress, saying he did so out of concern lawmakers would not protect victims' privacy, while denying the decision amounted to a cover-up.
Official Senate subcommittee hearing page documenting the bipartisan investigation into the Coast Guard's concealment of the Operation Fouled Anchor report on sexual assault and harassment at the Coast Guard Academy.
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On September 18, 2026 the Government Accountability Office published GAO-26-109302, finding the Coast Guard had completed 36 of 49 sexual-misconduct reform actions as of August 2026, lacked a performance plan to measure impact, and had notified Congress of Operation Fouled Anchor only when media reporting was imminent. Source ↗