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Veteran’s Day: State Department Sleaze Flows Unabated and Unpunished
We pause to honor America’s veterans today, and recognize their sacrifices. At the same time, we wish to let those still on active duty, living in the mud, eating MREs away from their families and of course putting their lives at risk, what some have called “America’s Other Army,” the Department of State, has been up to home and abroad.
That said, we’ve tried to keep up with the near-continuous flow of sleaze at the State Department, but it a tough job. Luckily, the New York Post has also been keeping track, and presents us with some updates.
(This blog’s catalog of sleaze is here if you need to refresh your memory)
From the Post:
— Chuck Lisenbee, a former Beirut security officer who was being probed for allegedly sexually assaulting local guards, is now a special agent in Washington for the Office of Diplomatic Vehicles, Enforcement and Outreach, according to a State Department phone directory. Agents were only given three days to investigate the allegations against him, according to a memo seen by the Post.
An alert blog reader has submitted in the comments below: “More details on Lisenbee: he first got into trouble when he tried to make out with a fellow (male) ARSO in Baghdad. His depredations against local guards in Liberia were then discovered. Lisenbee started every lunch with prayer because “Jesus Christ, my lord and savior, is the most important thing in my life” (exact quote heard by this source on at least 50 occasions). ”
— Brett McGurk — a former senior adviser to the ambassador to Iraq — was appointed the deputy assistant secretary for Iraq and Iran in August, according to the State Department Web site. He was President Obama’s nominee for ambassador to Iraq but withdrew after his extramarital affair with a Wall Street Journal reporter was exposed. Apparently, investigators never interviewed McGurk because Clinton’s chief of staff, Cheryl Mills, intervened. (this blog has A LOT more on McGurk’s dalliances; and you’ll see a lot more of Under Furher Cheryl Mills in the Hillary Clinton administration)
— Former Ambassador to Belgium Howard Gutman was allowed to retire in July. A State Department investigator believed Gutman solicited “sexual favors from both prostitutes and minor children,” according to the Post. The IG’s Office is reviewing the charges and the Department’s procedures and plans to release a followup report. Howard Gutman and members of Clinton’s security detail were also accused of hired prostitutes.
— An alert blog reader has submitted in the comments below: “Remember old Linda Howard, profiled on this blog for holding her Ethiopian housekeeper as a slave. She lost a big lawsuit over that. The U.S. Attorney was unable to prosecute her and her husband, Russell, because Linda’s sex parties in Yemen were really popular and the “semi-pro” Ethiopian girls in attendance made a lot of money at them. As a result, they didn’t make terribly good witnesses. The Howard’s are currently hiding out in an undisclosed SouthEast Asian country (Russell used to be a diplomatic courier in the Australian Foreign Service).”
Meanwhile, a quick update also on America’s Favorite Diplomatic Security agent, Chris Deedy. Deedy shot and killed an unarmed man in Hawaii while there on official State Department business (albeit off duty when he pulled the trigger multiple times), guarding Hillary Clinton during APEC meetings. The judge declared a mistrial, released the jury and stated she was thinking about scheduling a retrial for May or June 2014. The killing took place in 2011. At last report, the victim remains dead. Much more here about this story; Deedy remains a full-time paid employee of the State Department.
The Honolulu Star Advertiser and HawaiiNewsNOW have filed a complaint in state Supreme Court to force the judge to release transcripts of the parts of the Deedy trial where she kicked everyone out of the courtroom, saying the judge violated the U.S. Constitution by holding closed-door court proceedings.
Deedy’s support group is also busy, asking readers to donate their frequent flyer miles and hotel points so Deedy can fly and stay in Hawaii for free. Jump on over to their site if you want to pony up.
Also, Benghazi.
And don’t miss more State sleaze later this week, with a blog post we’ll call “Sex, Lies and Rotten Meat at the American Consulate in Naples.”
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Rich Bauer said...
1Let US not forget our allies State wants US to forget:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/in-afghanistan-interpreters-who-helped-us-in-war-denied-visas-us-says-they-face-no-threat/2013/11/10/af7acfc8-4180-11e3-b028-de922d7a3f47_story.html?hpid=z1
11/11/13 12:08 PM | Comment Link
Lafacadio said...
2Remember old Linda Howard, profiled on this blog for holding her Ethiopian housekeeper as a slave. She lost a big law suit over that. The U.S. Attorney was unable to prosecute her and her husband, Russel, because Linda’s sex party’s in Yemen were really popular and the “semi-pro” Ethiopian girls in attendance made a lot of money at them. As a result, they didn’t make terribly good witnesses. The Howard’s are currently hiding out in an undisclosed SouthEast Asian country (Russell used to be a diplomatic courier in the Australian Foreign Service).
More details on Lisenbee: he first got into trouble when he tried to make out with a fellow (male) ARSO in Baghdad. His depredations against local guards in Liberia were then discovered.
Lisenbee started every lunch with prayer because “Jesus Christ, my lord and savior, is the most important thing in my life” (exact quote heard by this source on at least 50 occassions).
And let’s not forget UnterFuhrer Mills. She made a whole lot of calls to the U.S. Embassy in Yemen to try and protect the “rights” of U.S. citizens who, to say the least, had most suspicious ties.
More Donald Moore?? Goody!
11/11/13 12:42 PM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
3Pay no attention to the crippled men behind the curtain:
“The VA stopped preparing and releasing these reports on health care use and disability claims involving the 2.6 million U.S. service members who have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan without warning, claiming unspecified “security” reasons.”
11/11/13 1:05 PM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
4http://www.forbes.com/sites/rebeccaruiz/2013/11/04/report-a-million-veterans-injured-in-iraq-afghanistan-wars/
11/11/13 1:07 PM | Comment Link
pitchfork said...
5quote:
“And don’t miss more State sleaze later this week, with a blog post we’ll call “Sex, Lies and Rotten Meat at the American Consulate in Naples.”
Far out. Sounds like a preview on “How to Succeed in diplomatic service in one easy lesson”…with your host..Hillary Clinton.
Hollywood couldn’t do better.
As far as Veterans day is concerned, today is my mother’s birthday. I called her this morning to wish her a happy birthday, and ask her to put some flowers on my Dad’s grave, as she was going to do so herself. You see..my dad fought in WW11, and as a member of the PBY crew that spotted the Japanese fleet heading towards Midway, was awarded various medals etc, as well as a graveside Marine Honor Guard ceremony at his funeral a couple of years ago.
However, unbeknownst to my mother, bless her heart, prior to my dad’s passing and on his deathbed, made me promise something I’ll never forget.
My dad was an honorable soldier. And he knew exactly what he was fighting for during WWll. Unfortunately, in the coming years, especially the last few of the Vietnam war, he became suspicious of the US military, as the lies were becoming unbelievable. And then the Pentagon Papers came out. He was outraged. From that point on, he became more and more despondent over the direction the USG was taking the nations military. And then..9/11 happened. For a while, he believed the USG(Bush&Co) had every right to do what ever it took to counteract. Until that is..Iraq. And then the torture. And then Afghanistan. And then the drones. By the time he was diagnosed with cancer, he was convinced the USG had gone completely insane. In fact, it was at this point he decided his and all the Veterans service, and all the soldiers that have given their lives, were a complete utter waste. The worst thing though was his sadness at this fact that he now understood that the “values” and “interests” that his generation fought for were no longer the same. He now understood the only “values” and “interests” that soldiers were dying for now.. were profits for the MIC/OIL oligarchy.
I’ve already posted what I promised my father, and ultimately did, a few months ago. What I’m trying to say is..today, I salute and mourn those soldiers in my father’s generation who fought for the REAL values and freedoms that I grew up pledging allegiance to. However..I can’t say the same for those soldiers since WW11. All I can offer them is solace for being ignorant, gullible and stupid. Any young person today, who joins the military in the belief they are fighting for our “freedoms” is one dumb motherfucker. After all..if they don’t understand what the USG and military is doing by now, they might as well be lobotomized.
I’m sorry if I offend someone with that view. If so..maybe you need to look at this….
http://droneswatch.org/2013/01/20/list-of-children-killed-by-drone-strikes-in-pakistan-and-yemen/
Sleaze is a monumental understatement.
11/11/13 6:33 PM | Comment Link
pitchfork said...
6Better yet, …
http://chris-floyd.com/component/content/article/1-latest-news/2354-choosing-murder-the-true-nature-of-the-system-laid-bare.html
11/11/13 6:57 PM | Comment Link
jo6pac said...
7pitchfork said…
Yep, my Dad was in the Pacific in the Navy doing what he thought was the right thing but later reading everything he get his hands on decide his oldest son (Me)was going to Nam but to Canada if I didn’t get in the CANG. I did and out early another story. Then when bush the lesser took away hard earned rights was his breaking point. I printed this up for him a few yrs before he passed away and when he hand it back to me a few days later all he said Yes, this what war is about.
http://www.warisaracket.org/Smedley's_Digest.html
It also bothered him until he dies on the fact his Japanese friends were rounded up and put in prison camps, my landlord today is one of those families. They’re the nicest people ever.
11/11/13 10:44 PM | Comment Link
pitchfork said...
8Notwithstanding DoS sleaze, concerning today, I had to go back and re-read Arthur Silbers 2010 Veteran’s day post. I swear, he could have wrote it today. Nothing has changed.
http://powerofnarrative.blogspot.com/2010/11/on-veterans-day-fuck-that-shit.html
11/12/13 1:20 AM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
9Let US keep the Clinton sleaze from spreading:
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/11/wall-street-elizabeth-warren-president-2016-elections-99697.html
11/12/13 2:43 PM | Comment Link
pitchfork said...
10Rich..if Warren were to run, she’d get my vote. The only thing Clinton would get is the finger. Or two.
11/12/13 9:56 PM | Comment Link
Blue Falcon Poacher said...
11This begs the question, what exactly merits a clearance suspension or revocation? Department employees can have this essential access suspended or revoked on mere suspicions of misconduct. But here are employees who did actual acts of misconduct or criminality and nothing happened to them.
**”Members of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s security detail “engaged prostitutes while on official trips in foreign countries,” a problem the report says was “endemic.” Three members of Clinton’s security detail admitted to hiring prostitutes while on foreign trips and were given suspensions of one day. An investigator for Diplomatic Security launched an investigation into similar allegations against four other members of Clinton’s security detail but was ordered by Kimber Davidson, chief of the special investigations division, and Rob Kelty, his deputy, to shut down the investigation.”
So what happened to those employees’ clearances? Were they given a quick lashing and told to move on while other employees have been subjected to criminal prosecution or stripped of their clearances based on rumors or ‘where there’s smoke there’s fire’ logic? If so, how? Why? Mr. Davidson and Mr. Kelty, are they still overseeing investigations? If so, how? Why? Wouldn’t allegations of turning a blind eye or interfering with investigations rise to the level of serious concern about objectivity, forget legality and professional conduct?
** “Too many people entering the [Diplomatic Security and Information Management] communities end up as subjects of [Special Investigation Division] investigations and HR adjudications, become Giglio-impaired and can play only limited roles thereafter,” according to the memo.”
If it’s a known fact that Special Investigation Division opens up cases and causes employees to become basically useless, who investigates the investigators to make sure these cases aren’t frivolous and comply with common professional standards? Or does it even matter as long as stats are created to justify the division? Who are these agents and what are their professional experiences that justify them having so much power over other employees?
**”The same Diplomatic Security memo cites eight cases involving Diplomatic Security agents who resorted to “false, misleading or incomplete statements in reports,” “privacy-act violations” or “lack of objectivity” in investigations.”
Now this is curious – if the OIG found that there are instances where agents violated professional (and legal) standards, how can those reports be used against the subjects of those cases? Would seem to my uneducated mind that if a local prosecutor uses a report that is tainted the defense would have a picnic. Are they going to review all the cases those agents cited as having made false or misleading statements initiated? What about their supervisors’ roles in finalizing these reports? How can agents investigate fellow employees when they themselves have records of misconduct or engaged in unpunished behavior of the very sort they are tasked with investigating? And what happened to privacy – how can agents discuss these sensitive cases so freely (usually over excessive rounds of alcohol at the nearest watering hole)?
I have no idea what’s going on at the department these days but the news indicates that things aren’t adding up and some people are ignoring the mounting possibilities of legal actions from poor (vengeful?) case work. Who knew what when and why wasn’t anything done? Are they picking and choosing who gets investigated and who loses a clearance? If so, no one finds this disturbing?
11/13/13 3:49 AM | Comment Link
Kyzl Orda said...
12“I have no idea what’s going on at the department these days but the news indicates that things aren’t adding up and some people are ignoring the mounting possibilities of legal actions from poor (vengeful?) case work. Who knew what when and why wasn’t anything done? Are they picking and choosing who gets investigated and who loses a clearance? If so, no one finds this disturbing? ”
Yes, it is very disturbing, but I might be biased having lost my clearance a couple of days after I requested an ombudsman, in writing, for my case and the AFGE Union wrote a letter of concern on my behalf, citing a potential for injustice, that was met with a wall of silence
The IG report that was issued last February or March on Diplomatic Security referenced a ‘potential’ for abuse for superiors to influence investigation outcomes and that too often personnel matters were sent to Diplomatic Security to resolve, when they should have remained within HR proper
It’s blacklisting, back door 101
11/13/13 10:15 AM | Comment Link