The Labor Department is under a cloud as investigators probe allegations tied both to Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer and to her husband, Dr. Shawn DeRemer, with local police searching the secretary’s offices and prosecutors declining to press charges against her husband after reviewing security footage. This report lays out what’s known: the OIG probe into a hostile workplace, MPD’s involvement, the U.S. Attorney’s decision, and the political fallout within a Republican administration trying to hold firm amid controversy.
Federal and local inquiries have converged on the Department of Labor in recent weeks, centering on accusations involving staffers and the secretary’s husband. The OIG’s original probe into a hostile work environment has widened as DC investigators examined footage and personnel spaces tied to the secretary’s suite. For Republicans, the optics matter: a party that talks about law and order still has to deal with allegations inside its own ranks without rushing to judgment.
Federal authorities have declined to charge the husband of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer with crimes related to the alleged sexual assault of two female staffers at the department’s headquarters in Washington, DC, officials and sources told The Post.
At least one of the alleged incidents occurred when Dr. Shawn DeRemer was caught on an office security camera giving a prolonged hug to one of the women last December, according to sources.
But prosecutors in the DC US Attorney’s Office have declined to file charges after reviewing the video footage.
“Based upon the evidence presented to this office in relation to the video, there is no indication of a crime,” a spokesperson for DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office, according to reporting, reviewed video evidence and decided not to pursue criminal charges against Dr. DeRemer. That decision leaves the OIG as the primary investigator for workplace conduct tied to the secretary and her staff. The Department of Homeland Security clarified it lacks prosecutorial authority here, which funnels responsibility back to internal watchdogs and local police for fact-finding.
The two female Department of Labor staffers alleged the sexual misconduct amid a broader probe of the “hostile” work environment fostered by Chavez-DeRemer and her senior aides, as well as other misconduct amid her official duties, which was first exposed by The Post in January.
DC police later visited the secretary’s office amid their own investigation that also reviewed the footage of the purported assault captured on camera, sources said.
Members of Metropolitan Police’s sexual assault unit reportedly examined the matter alongside federal prosecutors before concluding the footage did not show criminal behavior. That conclusion prompted MPD to close its criminal probe into Dr. DeRemer, while administrative and internal reviews continue. Still, sources say MPD once temporarily removed staff from the secretary’s offices and inspected the suite, an unusual step for a local force at federal headquarters.
District of Columbia police searched Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s offices at the agency’s headquarters this month as part of its investigation of sexual assault allegations against her husband, Dr. Shawn DeRemer, according to three DOL officials.
Employees who work in the secretary’s suite were ushered out of their offices temporarily Feb. 5, and Metropolitan Police Department personnel entered and looked around, according to the DOL officials, who were granted anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation.
It is unclear what the police were searching for or how long they stayed, but it is unusual for a local police force to seek access to federal property, and especially rare for them search the office of a Cabinet official. In addition to the secretary’s own office, the suite also includes the work stations of a number of aides and advisers who report to her.
“LCD knew MPD was here but not why,” said one of the officials, referring to Chavez-DeRemer by her initials.
Neither Chavez-DeRemer nor Deputy Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling was in the office at the time of the search. A DOL spokesperson declined to comment.
Police actions inside the Labor Department’s headquarters raised eyebrows because it is uncommon for municipal officers to conduct searches on federal property, especially in a Cabinet official’s office. Officials inside the department say staff were briefly removed while investigators looked around the secretary’s suite and adjoining workstations. That level of scrutiny adds pressure on internal investigators to be thorough and transparent about their findings.
The lawyer representing the DeRemers publicly called the allegations fabricated and politically motivated, asserting internal rivals at the department manufactured complaints to advance their own careers. “The allegations are a complete fabrication manufactured by Labor Department insiders vying for the Secretary of Labor’s position,” Bell said in a statement. That claim underscores how personnel battles inside agencies can spill into public controversy.
Republicans who backed the administration expect due process and careful inquiry; they also worry about politically motivated leaks and factional infighting within federal agencies. Chavez-DeRemer was a contentious pick, and opponents inside the department may see an opening to force a change. The broader OIG investigation persists, focused on whether a hostile workplace culture existed and if senior aides contributed to it.
Officially, MPD’s sexual assault unit said detectives reviewed the evidence with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and that the prosecutors found no indication of criminal conduct. “Based on that finding, MPD’s investigation into this matter has concluded,” the department stated in its closing notice. That leaves administrative restrictions — like the reported permanent ban of Dr. Shawn DeRemer from the building — as part of the non-criminal fallout.
The plot thickens.
Editor’s Note: Republicans are fighting for election integrity by requiring proper identification to vote.
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