An inquiry into allegations that FDA commissioner nominee Lester Crawford had an inappropriate personal relationship with a senior agency colleague has been referred to the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services, according to a Washington Post report.
Senator Mike Enzi had previously asked the FDA’s internal affairs office to look into the allegations made in an anonymous letter received by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee last week.
Kevin Keane, assistant secretary for public affairs at HHS, told the Post, “The allegations [in the letter] are completely false. Dr. Crawford welcomes the review and will cooperate completely and fully. We look forward to a quick resolution so the Senate can move forward.”
A spokeswoman for the inspector general’s office told the newspaper she could not predict when the investigation might be completed.
The Senate committee was about to vote on Crawford’s confirmation on Wednesday when the letter arrived. Enzi told reporters on Thursday that the letter was “badly spelled, badly written, in terrible condition,” and that the allegations involved questions of “personal propriety.”
According to the Post report, two Senate staffers familiar with the contents of the letter said it raised questions about Crawford and a woman in the FDA commissioner’s office who recently received significant promotions.