The Chief of Staff of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Suzanne Barr, has resigned from her position. She has been accused of lewd conduct and decided to quit because she didn’t want the scandal to get in the way of what ICE is trying to accomplish. Hit the jump.
Steph B
A top official at Immigration and Customs Enforcement has resigned following allegations by several subordinates of lewd behavior.
ICE Chief of Staff Suzanne Barr submitted her resignation in a letter, obtained by FoxNews.com, to ICE Director John Morton. She rejected the allegations against her as “unfounded” but said she didn’t want to distract from the agency’s mission.
“In recent weeks, I have been the focus of unfounded allegations designed to destroy my reputation, but of greater concern however, is the threat these allegations represent to the reputation of this agency and the men and women who proudly serve their country by advancing ICE’s mission,” Barr wrote.
“As such, I feel it is incumbent upon me to take every step necessary to prevent further harm to the agency and to prevent this from further distracting from our critical work. Therefore, it is with great regret that I submit my resignation as Chief of Staff for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.”
The resignation comes nearly three weeks after Barr went on leave over the allegations. The questions about Barr’s conduct were first raised in a lawsuit filed by an ICE official against Department of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano — the lawsuit, which alleged discrimination and retaliation, listed among the complaints that Barr cultivated a “frat-house”-style work environment.
That accusation was supplemented by two affidavits recounting incidents allegedly involving Barr in 2009.
