Inspector General

20151113-034269 39
When we told MG Lewis that witnesses viewed the cigar exchange as an “awkward”
interaction and asked him to respond, MG Lewis told us it was not his intent to make others feel
awkward viewing his interactions with the female DoD civilian. 16
The female DoD civilian, who no longer serves in DoD, declined our interview request.
MG Lewis’ TCL response regarding travel-related conduct in Malaysia
In his TCL response, MG Lewis asserted:
The report describes witnesses feeling “uncomfortable” that I may
have sat close to the [the female DoD civilian] and shared my cigar
with her, implying that we were engaging in some kind of behavior
that made witnesses across the room from us feel “uncomfortable.”
In fact I was socializing with all of the reporters and team members
present, which the report omits…. The location described in the
ROI where the delegation pulled together tables/chairs to sit
together was across the room, away from the table where I was
talking with the press. The views and perspectives of the
individuals sitting at those tables were uncertain at best,
considering the number of individuals between their location and
mine.
We reviewed interview transcripts from six witnesses, all members of the delegation,
who observed the cigar sharing. Each described it as occurring at the table where the witnesses
were sitting. In our report, we describe accurately what the witnesses told us they observed, and
their reaction to it, which they described as “questionable behavior,” “extremely intimate,”
“chummy,” and “did not seem innocent.”
California, August 26 -29, 2015
Official travel-related conduct in Palo Alto
In August 2015, MG Lewis travelled to Palo Alto, California as a member of the
Secretary of Defense delegation. A female enlisted Service member reported to MG Lewis’
hotel room because MG Lewis had requested to speak to her about the day’s events. The female
enlisted Service member told us that she went to MG Lewis’ hotel room with a stack of briefing
papers, and knocked on his door. She told us that she identified herself to MG Lewis, and he
invited her to “come on in.” She stated that when she entered his hotel room, he came out of the
bathroom shirtless and dressed only in gym shorts. She said that this caught her off guard and
she looked down at the briefing papers to avert her eyes. When she completed her brief to him,
he asked her for a document she did not have with her, and she left his room to retrieve it. She
told us that when she returned later with the retrieved document and announced herself at his
door, MG Lewis again invited her to come into his room. She said he was still wearing only his
16
Investigators used the term “awkward” in this question to summarize the collective testimony of witnesses who
observed the incident.