An investigation by NPR once called into question whether U.S. Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti had lied under oath in an effort to protect a longtime staffer accused of sexual misconduct. It stretches back to 2020, when journalist and onetime Democratic fundraiser Yashar Ali accused Rick Jacobs-a then-senior adviser to Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti-of inappropriate behavior. She was now able to describe the incident at one NPR podcast, where she said, “He (Jacobs) walked up to me and takes his two hands and he grabs my face and kisses me on the lips — two times. I was just kind of frozen. It made me very, very uncomfortable.”
Although Jacobs was supposedly a person known to be “touching and forcibly kissing people on the lips without their consent,” Garcetti reportedly still associated with him a lot at work.
According to the NPR report, the lawsuit said that Garcetti “witnessed and enabled the harassment for years” by this close friend and political adviser. In 2021, Garcetti, the mayor of Los Angeles for eight years and co-chair of President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign, testified that he has no knowledge of the harassment.
Yashar Ali argues that these allegations were strong enough that they prevented Garcetti from taking up residence in India as the U.S. Ambassador and, therefore, from obtaining a cabinet-level position in the United States. As Ali puts it, “Just know that the Biden administration, including the president, was aware of these details, had all the facts, and ignored them in favor of allowing the nomination of the despicable Eric Garcetti to be held up for two years,
Living large, indeed. Ali also said Garcetti had ensured his appointment as an ambassador with “lobbying efforts funded by $100,000 from his parents.”
In claims related to this, Ali claimed LAPD officer Matthew Garza, who had been a part of Garcetti’s security detail, had accused Jacobs, among allegations against him of assault and harassment, and said the Garcetti campaign had witnessed them.
Garcetti has consistently denied the allegations. According to NPR, he said this: “I want to say unequivocally that I never witnessed nor was it brought to my attention the behavior that’s been alleged. And I also want to assure you, if it had been, I would have immediately taken action to stop that.”