WASHINGTON — 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 Federal Protective Service, a Department of Homeland Security subagency which investigates crimes committed inside government buildings, also declined to pursue the case last month, sources said.
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.
Staff were told to exit briefly on Feb. 5 while a Metropolitan Police Department officer entered, Politico first reported.
An MPD detective had opened the case on Jan. 24, in which the unidentified female employee was said to have been forced into “sexual contact against her will” — a misdemeanor sex abuse charge. Police did not respond to questions on whether the investigation is active.
DeRemer, a Portland, Ore., based anesthesiologist, was subsequently barred from the building, The New York Times first reported.
“If Mr. DeRemer attempts to enter, he is to be asked to leave,” read a building restriction notice viewed by The Times.
DeRemer told The Wall Street Journal in a statement Thursday he had “not done any of this and I categorically deny these things. I will absolutely categorically fight everything in this.”
The misconduct complaint, filed with the DOL’s Office of Inspector General, claimed the Cabinet official had her chief of staff Jihun Han and deputy Rebecca Wright “make up” official trips for personal reasons.
Chavez-DeRemer was also accused of drinking in her office during the workday and pursuing an “inappropriate” relationship with a member of her security detail.
Evidence was later uncovered that Chavez-DeRemer, 57, had taken subordinates to a strip club in her home state of Oregon while on a taxpayer-funded official trip — prompting an inquiry into the secretary’s conduct by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).
Han, Wright and the security guard were all placed on administrative leave in January, with several additional complaints submitted amid the probe by Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito, sources noted.
Those cited the secretary’s aides continuing to exert improper influence over junior staff, even after the investigation started, with both Han and Wright being accused of bullying and belittling DOL employees, The Post understands.
Wright was also outed amid the probe for having taken a shot at President Trump, according to two sources, one of whom is a current DOL employee.
“We don’t care how POTUS looks,” she told staff in a meeting last year, “and we don’t care what the White House tells us to do. We only care that the secretary looks good.”
The White House has stood by Chavez-DeRemer, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt telling reporters that Trump is “aware of the internal investigation” and “thinks that she’s doing a tremendous job at the Department of Labor on behalf of American workers.”
In the weeks since the probe launched, the labor secretary has attended Cabinet and White House events, continued her tour of American states that led to some of the “travel fraud” accusations, done a media hit and even attended a $2,500-per-ticket fundraising dinner for Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.).
A flier for the Feb. 11 event emphasized that Chavez-DeRemer was “a special guest” and the “appearance is not a solicitation of funds.”
DeRemer did not respond to a request for comment. Reps for DOL, DHS and the White House did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
