U.S. envoy to Britain hit with allegations
LONDON — Allegations that President Donald Trump’s envoy to Britain made inappropriate remarks about women and minorities and may have violated federal ethics rules are roiling the U.S. Embassy in London.
Current and former U.S. officials say the charges against Robert “Woody” Johnson , U.S. ambassador to the Court of St. James’s, surfaced during a routine inspection of operations at the embassy and are to be addressed in a report by the State Department’s inspector general.
Two current U.S. officials said they had witnessed or were aware of behavior by Johnson that colleagues had found to be bullying or demeaning.
One former embassy employee said Johnson’s questionable behavior and comments toward and about women and minorities were witnessed by numerous staffers on a weekly, if not daily, basis. That former employee and the other officials spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The officials said Johnson had questioned the need for events marking Black History Month, which is traditionally commemorated by U.S. diplomatic missions abroad, had hosted embassy events at a private men-only London club against the advice of embassy colleagues and made disparaging remarks about women’s appearances.
On Wednesday, Johnson, a Trump campaign contributor and owner of the New York Jets football team, took to Twitter to defend his reputation.
“I have followed the ethical rules and requirements of my office at all times,” he tweeted. “These false claims of insensitive remarks about race and gender are totally inconsistent with my longstanding record and values.”
But perhaps more seriously, Johnson’s former deputy has alleged the ambassador tried to intervene with British government officials at the president’s request to steer the British Open golf tournament to Trump’s Turnberry resort in Scotland.
British officials say Johnson made no such requests, and the golf tournament was not awarded to Turnberry.
Trump on Wednesday denied he ever asked Johnson to make the case for Turnberry.