In Mumbai on Wednesday, I asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio about his all-staff message last week reminding State Department employees to act in accordance with ethics rules.
I asked him whether he’s concerned that there are other examples in embassies around the world of the kind of ethical violations alleged against US Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle (which she denied) -- who Trump ousted a day before Rubio's message.
Rubio told me “no” – that he had ordered the message to be sent WEEKS in advance, and that a delay in sending it caused it to finally be sent the day after Guilfoyle's exit was announced.
"This is a message we’ve sent out multiple times. It’s just a constant reminder of people, of who they work for. They work for the Government of the United States, they work for the people of the United States, and we expect everyone in our department to do so not just in accordance with the law, but with the higher standards possible. Our ability to diplomatically represent this country is undermined and is sabotaged if there’s any implications that what you are doing – and I’m not talking about Kimberly in specific; anybody – you are undermined when – anytime there’s the notion that somehow what you are doing is somehow in YOUR interest, but not in the interest of the country.
So we – it’s not the first time we’ve sent that message. That is something we repeatedly do because to me it’s a very important principle of how we do our work. It just happened to go out the day after, but that is something that, frankly, had been drafted and that I had ordered sent weeks in advance and unfortunately did not go out when I wanted it to go out for whatever reason. But it probably won’t be the last time that a message like that is sent. It’s something we just constantly remind people of, just to set the right culture and standards."
SCOOP: Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent a message to all State Department employees on Wednesday reminding them to act in accordance with ethics rules -- a day after President Donald Trump ousted US Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle.
“As part of demonstrating our personal and professional integrity, I expect employees to avoid conflicts of interest in our work, to act impartially, and to avoid using our public offices for private gain,” Rubio said in correspondence seen by Bloomberg News.
From me and
@jendeben
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