Howard Gutman, Controversial Jewish Envoy to Belgium, Denies Hooker Claim
The U.S. ambassador alleged in State Department memos to have solicited prostitutes, including minors, was embroiled two years ago in a controversy over Israel.
A whistleblower who worked for the State Department’s Inspector General office claimed that higher-ups quashed an investigation into Howard Gutman, the U.S. ambassador to Brussels, the New York Post reported on Tuesday. Some of the findings were first reported by CBS.
An agent for the department’s Bureau of Security “began his investigation and had determined that the ambassador routinely ditched his protective security detail in order to solicit sexual favors from both prostitutes and minor children,” said an internal memo by Aurelia Fedenisn, the Post reported.
Gutman, in a statement quoted by Foreign Policy magazine, called the allegations baseless.
“At no point have I ever engaged in any improper activity,” he said.
Gutman, the son of a Holocaust survivor, said in 2011 that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict contributes to manifestations of Muslim anti-Semitism in Europe, prompting calls for his ouster by Republican candidates for the presidency.
Gutman, who is popular in Belgium, is a lawyer who was a fundraiser for President Obama’s 2008 campaign. Appointing supporters to key overseas embassies is routine among U.S. presidents.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!