WASHINGTON – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley today made the following statement on the announced retirement of Kimberly Beal, Assistant Director for the U.S. Marshals Service Asset Forfeiture Division. Grassley has been conducting oversight of the Marshals Service as more than 70 employees have disclosed inappropriate hiring practices, misuse of funds and retaliation against agency whistleblowers.
“The Marshals Service has been plagued with a rash of abuse and misconduct by officials in the agency's upper echelon – problems I've been investigating for the better part of a year now. With Ms. Beal’s departure, and after the agency’s director stepped down in the summer, the agency has an opportunity now to begin taking steps to regain the public’s trust by filling vacancies with dedicated public servants who put their duty to the American people ahead of their own personal and professional gain.”
Beal is the second Marshals Service employee to leave the agency following Grassley’s inquiries of misconduct by senior agency officials. She has been implicated in several whistleblower allegations of misconduct, including tampering with the staff hiring process, using government resources for private gain and retaliating against agency whistleblowers. Stacia Hylton, the former Marshals Service director, was also under investigation for inappropriate hiring practices. She stepped down in June.
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