State Dept. Overseas Misconduct Cover-up

[waltky]

Hanky-panky coverup on Hillary's watch...

US State Department Accused of Covering-up Overseas Misconduct
June 10, 2013 — A U.S. television network is alleging that State Department officials have tried to cover up alleged sexual misconduct by American diplomats serving overseas.

The U.S. broadcaster CBS News says it has obtained a memo from the State Department's Inspector General reporting that several recent investigations into misconduct overseas were influenced or manipulated. The CBS News report says the memo cites specific examples. Among them are allegations that a State Department security official in Beirut "engaged in sexual assaults" on foreign nationals hired as embassy guards. There also are allegations that members of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's security detail "engaged prostitutes while on official trips in foreign countries."

The CBS News report says members of the State Department's security force were told to stop investigating a U.S. ambassador suspected of patronizing a prostitute in a public park. It quotes the memo as saying that "Hindering such cases calls into question the integrity of the investigative process, can result in counterintelligence vulnerabilities and can allow criminal behavior to continue."

Asked if she challenges any of those allegations, State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said Monday she would not comment about ongoing investigations. "We hold all employees to the highest standards. We take allegations of misconduct seriously and we investigate thoroughly. All cases mentioned in the CBS report were thoroughly investigated or under investigation, and the department continues to take action," Psaki said.

Psaki says officials have responded to the recommendations in the Office of the Inspector General report regarding the Bureau of Diplomatic Security. "Diplomatic Security has taken the further step of requesting an additional review by outside experienced law enforcement officers on top of the OIG inspection so that officers with law enforcement experience can make expert assessments about our current procedures," Psaki said.

Asked about allegations against a current U.S. ambassador, Psaki said she would not talk about specific cases. "But I can say broadly that the notion that we would not vigorously pursue criminal misconduct in a case, in any case, is preposterous. And we've put individuals behind bars for criminal behavior. There is record of that. Ambassadors would be no exception," Psaki said. Psaki says the State Department "would never condone any undue influence on any report or investigation." She dismissed the memo's reported conclusion that contact between the secretary of state's security detail and prostitutes is "endemic," saying, "It's not at all."

US State Department Accused of Covering-up Overseas Misconduct

 

[waltky]

Kerry keepin' mum about it...

No Word From Kerry on State Dep’t Sexual Misconduct and Coverup Claims
June 12, 2013 > In his first public comment on the misconduct and cover up allegations, Secretary of State John Kerry said late Wednesday afternoon that “all employees of this department are held to the highest standards of behavior, and now and always.” He said he welcomed the Office of Inspector General’s invitation to outside former law enforcement experts to review the internal investigations process. “I welcome that, I think the department welcomes that, because we do want the highest standards applied.”

Amid continuing fallout over allegations that senior State Department officials tried to stop investigations into personnel misconduct, Secretary of State John Kerry kept a low profile Tuesday, making no public comment on the controversy. Kerry abruptly postponed a visit to the Middle East this week to take part in White House talks on the Syria crisis, and on Wednesday he is due to meet with British Foreign Secretary William Hague, with Syria topping the agenda. He had no public engagements on Tuesday although – in an event closed to the press – he did swear in the new ambassador to Libya, Deborah Jones.

Meanwhile State Department officials were fending off allegations – first reported by CBS News, citing an internal Oct. 2012 memo by the department’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) – that eight probes by the department’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) into suspected wrongful conduct by employees had been improperly influenced or cut short by senior personnel. The suspected misconduct, which occurred during the tenure of Kerry’s predecessor, Hillary Clinton, included the alleged use of prostitutes by Clinton’s security personnel during foreign trips – a practice described as “endemic” – and the alleged solicitation of prostitutes, including minors, by a Europe-based U.S. ambassador.

In the latter case, the OIG memo reportedly said that undersecretary of state for management, Patrick Kennedy, had interviewed the ambassador in Washington but ordered a halt to the DSS investigation. The ambassador in question issued a statement Tuesday denying any wrongdoing, while Kennedy in a separate statement denied improper interference. “It is my responsibility to make sure the department and all of our employees – no matter their rank – are held to the highest standard, and I have never once interfered, nor would I condone interfering, in any investigation,” Kennedy said.

House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.) sent a letter to Kerry Tuesday, requesting a briefing for committee staff, including written answers to questions. Among these, Royce asked Kerry to identify any State Department officials who may have influenced DSS probes into the alleged misconduct, and the nature of their influence on the investigations. He also asked Kerry to produce, by June 25, all documents and communications relating to the eight cases cited in the OIG memo.

See more at: No Word From Kerry on State Dep?t Sexual Misconduct and Coverup Claims | CNS News

 

[waltky]

Mebbe dey was procurin' giglio's fer Hillary to get back at Slick Willie...

State watchdog blasted for keeping hooker claims from Congress
6/13/13 > The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday accused the State Department's watchdog of violating its mission by keeping Congress in the dark about accusations of political cover-ups at the department.

In a letter to the department's Office of Inspector General (OIG), Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.) blasts the agency over a February report that was scrubbed of specific references to misconduct allegations that included eight cases of State Department officials sleeping with prostitutes and other misconduct. “The final version of the report submitted to Congress in February 2013 was bereft of any reference to these specific cases,” Royce wrote to Harold Geisel, the deputy inspector general. “Instead the OIG concluded, without the requisite context, that 'The Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS) Special Investigations Division (SID), which investigates allegations of criminal and administrative misconduct, lacks a firewall to preclude the DS and Department of State (Department) hierarchies from exercising undue influence in particular cases.'

According to reports, some or all of these omissions came at the behest of senior State Department officials.” Royce's letter follows revelations that the February OIG report to Congress about the risk of political manipulation at the department was watered down. A draft report that mentioned the prostitution claims and other allegations was never shared with Congress.

Royce said his committee staff asked for more details when the February report first came out but was denied. “On March 14, 2013, representatives from your Office briefed Committee staff on a final version of the report,” Royce wrote. “At no time during this meeting did OIG personnel explain the basis of this finding or provide details concerning 'undue influence' on DSS investigations. “When asked, officials declined to comment on specific examples. While the Department and OIG deny any wrongdoing, the lack of detail appears to be inconsistent with the OIG’s mission to keep the Congress 'fully and currently informed.'”

The letter demands that the OIG turn over its draft report and an earlier memo as well as “all documents and communications referring or relating” to the February report by June 27. Royce also asked for a briefing from the OIG and for a clarification, in writing, detailing “whether, and on what basis, OIG agreed to omit information from this final report pursuant to any State Department official's request.” A spokesman for the OIG told The Hill it's "standard practice" not to divulge information about ongoing investigations to Congress or the public. "Because allegations are unsubstantiated and often based on rumor and hearsay," said OIG spokesman Douglas Welty, "it is our standard practice to keep all information close-hold until the facts are known."

Read more: State watchdog blasted for keeping hooker claims from Congress - The Hill's Global Affairs