Thursday, June 13, 2013

More ethical rot coming to light.

Here's a sobering post by Gary Bauer on the "Summer of Scandals" we're facing with the Obama Administration.  There's no doubt that there are unsavory individuals who have worked in every presidential administration.  But the apparent breadth and degree of the unethical and unsavory behavior coming out of the Obama Administration is significant.

While it's uncertain what the President and former Secretary of State Clinton knew those working for them did, the buck does stop with the man and/or woman at the top.  If nothing else they set a tone and hire people who have or don't have moral, ethical compasses.
Summer Of Scandals

Each new day seems to bring to light a new scandal. CBS News reported yesterday that a State Department whistleblower has come forward with shocking allegations of drug use, prostitution and even pedophilia among top Obama Administration officials serving our country overseas.

Aurelia Fedenisn was a career agent and investigator at the State Department. She has gone to Congress with allegations of a massive cover-up of illegal behavior inside the State Department during Hillary Clinton's tenure.

According to Fedenisn, a report sent to Congress in March was scrubbed of crucial details, including references to meddling in internal security-related investigations by top political appointees at the State Department.

For example, in 2011 the U.S. ambassador to Belgium, Howard Gutman, came under investigation by the State Department's Diplomatic Security Service. The charge: "the ambassador routinely ditched his protective security detail in order to solicit sexual favors from both prostitutes and minor children."

Gutman, as it turns out, was a major donor to Barack Obama, raising $500,000 for his 2008 campaign and $275,000 for his inauguration. But the agent investigating Gutman was ordered to drop the case by Patrick Kennedy, Undersecretary of State for Management. Kennedy has been criticized for his role in the State Department's response to the Benghazi attacks.

Other allegations include: the "endemic" use of prostitutes by members of Hillary Clinton's security detail, an "underground drug ring" close to the U.S. embassy in Baghdad and a State Department official sexually assaulting foreign security guards in Beirut, Lebanon.

The allegations of such conduct are bad enough. But the most damning accusation from Ms. Fedenisn is that several investigations were manipulated or shut down completely by top officials, including Cheryl Mills -- Hillary Clinton's then-chief of staff.

When the inspector general's report was being prepared for Congress in December, Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security Eric Boswell was reportedly "stunned" by the details. But fearing the potential damage to his department given all the heightened scrutiny at the time over the Benghazi attacks, Boswell ordered the information about the illegal conduct and the manipulated investigations removed.

Boswell's name may sound familiar too. He was one of the Benghazi scapegoats who reportedly "resigned" after the fallout from the attack. In reality, he merely "switched desks" at the State Department.

In response to the news, Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee, promised a thorough investigation. Rep. Royce added that he was "appalled not only at the reported misconduct itself, but at the reported interference in the investigations of the misconduct."  

Kudos to Ms. Fedenisn for coming forward. We need more dedicated public servants to do the same. Unfortunately, the administration's manipulation of investigations and intimidation of whistleblowers appears to be ongoing. CBS News reported that State Department security officers showed up at Ms. Fedenisn house two hours after CBS "made inquiries to the State Department about these charges."


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