DOJ watchdog report highlights FBI's mishandling of Larry Nassar case

Driving the news: The watchdog opened an investigation into the FBI's handling of the case in 2018 following reports that the bureau received complaints regarding Nassar's conduct in 2015 which went "largely unexplored" for more than a year, per the Wall Street Journal.

• "At least 40 girls and women said they were molested over a 14-month period while the FBI was aware of other sexual abuse allegations involving Nassar," AP reports.

The big picture: The report "highlights major missteps" in how the FBI handled the case between the time the first allegations were reported and Nassar's arrest, per AP.

• The report found that "despite the extraordinarily serious nature of the allegations and the possibility that Nassar’s conduct could be continuing," senior FBI officials did not respond to the allegations with the "utmost seriousness and urgency that they deserved and required."
• FBI officials also made "numerous and fundamental errors when they did respond to them, and violated multiple FBI policies," the report adds.