■Rep. Blumenthal seeks answers on Coast Guard cover-up.

■62 confirmed incidents of sexual misconduct from 1988-2006.

■Documents reveal calculated effort to hide findings.

Connecticut Congressman Richard Blumenthal is seeking answers from the U.S. Coast Guard and Coast Guard Academy leaders following the release of hundreds of documents that indicate a deliberate cover-up of numerous sexual assault cases.

The internal investigation, dubbed “Operation Fouled Anchor,” revealed 62 confirmed incidents of rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment at the New London academy or involving academy cadets from 1988 to 2006. The investigation was concluded in 2018, but the decision was made to keep it under wraps.

CNN first reported on the investigation in 2023. The recently released documents reveal a calculated effort by top Coast Guard officials to hide the investigation’s damning findings, including a handwritten list of pros and cons.

Blumenthal is demanding an explanation from Coast Guard leaders. He quoted a top Coast Guard official who dismissed the misconduct as a “problem of the past,” but lawmakers are skeptical, given the depth of the cover-up.

“To put it bluntly the Coast Guard embarked on a purposeful strategy of concealment from the public and Congress because it wanted to avoid the embarrassment of telling the world that sexual assault was a problem in the Coast Guard,” Blumenthal said.

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Blumenthal also noted that a congressional hearing last December revealed that cadets are still grappling with a persistent culture of assault and misreporting. He criticized the Coast Guard for its slow response in providing the requested documents but anticipates more revelations in the future.

Read more at FOX61.