Report: Moran cleared of misconduct, but violated Defense Department email policy

Investigators said in a report released Wednesday that retired Adm. Bill Moran violated Pentagon policy by using his personal email for work. However, his professional relationship with a former Navy commander who was reprimanded for inappropriate sexual behavior did not rise to the level of misconduct.

Moran retired out of the blue in July after the Senate confirmed him to lead the Navy. Military officials questioned Moran's judgment when it was learned that he continued communicating with a commander who was dismissed because of the sex-related charges.

"We do not consider Admiral Moran's continued relationship with the Navy commander to be misconduct; rather, we consider it a performance issue," said the report issued by the Department of Defense's Inspector General.

"We found no applicable standard that prohibited Admiral Moran from continuing his personal or professional relationships with the Navy commander after his removal from the [Chief of Naval Operations'] staff. However, we agree with the Secretary of the Navy's and Admiral [John] Richardson's consideration of this issue as a performance issue."

Moran was accused of a continued relationship with Navy public affairs official Chris Servello, who retired following allegations of sexual harassment committed during a Christmas party in 2016.

President Donald Trump nominated Moran as Chief of Naval Operations in April and was confirmed by the Senate in May.

The report said it examined 572 pages of emails from Moran's personal email account in ruling against him in that matter.

"We found that Admiral Moran frequently communicated by personal email with the Navy commander to conduct official [Department of Defense] communications after the commander had been removed from the CNO's staff for inappropriate behavior towards junior female officers and a female civilian employee," the report said.

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