First on CNN: John Kerry appoints email 'czar' for State Department

[OneCrazyDiamond]

Source: CNN

Secretary of State John Kerry has tapped a former career diplomat as an "email czar" to coordinate the State Department response to the myriad of document requests mostly related to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, which have strained the department's resources, officials familiar with the appointment tell CNN.

Janice Jacobs will serve as Kerry's State Department's Transparency Coordinator, charged with responding to Freedom of Information Act and congressional requests faster and more efficiently and improving the State Department systems for keeping records.

Kerry has sought to balance between trying to ensure the department promptly responds to the various requests without directly undercutting his predecessor and the Democratic party's presidential front-runner. Privately aides say he has been annoyed at the distraction the controversy has caused for his department, which has at times overshadowed his diplomatic efforts.

One senior official said Jacob's appointment was "born out of frustration" on Kerry's part that the State Department has come under fire by federal judges and members of Congress alike for not being responsive to requests by the public and Congress for documents, particularly over the past six months as questions about Clinton's use of a private email server have prompted an influx of inquiries and lawsuits.

The official added, "He is also bothered frankly by unfair criticism of some of our public servants that have been working hard without enough resources."

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/08/politics/hillary-clinton-email-czar-john-kerry/index.html

[Dont call me Shirley]

1. "Email czar" is that a luntzianism?

[karynnj]

2. I assume Kerry used the words - State Department's Transparency Coordinator -

I think "email czar" was CNN.

I think it is an excellent step by Kerry, who had already long ago asked the SD IG to look at the practices and determine where they need fixing. (It is also good to have career professionals dealing with this to avoid any appearance that this is being done in a partisan way.)

If she does a good job in developing better practices and if they achive the email sensibly, future State Departments will be better equipped to respond to FOIA and preserve the historical record.

[Dont call me Shirley]

3. CrapNotNews probably sent the naming job over to the Luntz department for wording.

[karynnj]

4. I doubt they needed to do that - as "email" and "SD" automatically mean Clinton mess

I like Kerry's name better and see how he is positioning this. While true that if her work goes well, the historical records - such as email - will be much easier to find and access. Assuming that procedures also require that stuff that should be saved - is saved, this could be a great thing for the department.

At this point, I think it is Kerry trying to insure that professional, not political people aligned with Obama are dealing with this issue. It has to be tricky when HRC, as an Obama appointee, reflects on him.

Politico had this:

Ambassador Janice Jacobs will assume the newly created position of "transparency coordinator," Kerry said in a statement Tuesday.
"Secretary Kerry takes very seriously our responsibility to the American people to be as transparent as possible and to preserve the record, as we must, of how we conduct diplomacy around the world," State spokesman John Kirby said at a regular briefing for reporters. "The secretary is committed and focused to leading on these issues. ... He knows that we can do better."
<snip>

Jacobs served most recently as assistant secretary for consular affairs and was credited with revamping State Department visa issuance practices in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. She will report "directly" to Kerry and to Deputy Secretary for Management Heather Higginbottom, Kirby said. "The plan going forward is she will have regular meetings with Secretary Kerry and Deputy Secretary Higginbottom," the spokesman said.
"One of the advantages of this position is she will be able crosscut across all the agencies here," Kirby said.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2015/09/kerry-names-state-department-email-and-transparency-czar-213413#ixzz3lBKmzKy1

[Dont call me Shirley]

5. It's time to drop the term czar from heads of government departments. It's a GOP term.

[karynnj]

6. Kerry doesn't use that word in his statement

Here is the full Kerry statement.


Today, I am pleased to announce the appointment of Ambassador Janice Jacobs as the State Department’s Transparency Coordinator, charged with improving document preservation and transparency systems.

Ambassador Jacobs will lead Departmental efforts to meet the President’s Managing Government Records Directive, to respond to recommendations from the review I asked the Department’s Inspector General to launch earlier this year, and to work with other agencies and the private sector to explore best practices and new technologies. I have also asked her to focus on improving our systems for responding to Freedom of Information Act and congressional requests faster and more efficiently.

As I have repeatedly made clear, we have a fundamental obligation to document the conduct of U.S. foreign policy and to produce our records in response to requests from the public and Congress. Our records, and our ability to share them, serve as testament to our commitment to transparency and open government. I take very seriously that responsibility, and so does everyone else at the State Department.

I am grateful for the work being done by scores of people across the Department who continue to support the unprecedented number of requests we are facing — a three-fold increase in Freedom of Information requests alone since 2008 or the numerous requests for information from members of Congress.

However, it is clear that our systems and our resources are straining to keep pace with the growing number of records we create and the expanding demand for access to them. It is time to take further action. I want the Department to lead on these issues, to set and achieve a new standard for our efforts, and harness new technological tools in order to meet our commitments. To reach that goal, we must think boldly and creatively. As we enhance our records management system, we also intend to fundamentally improve our ability to respond to requests for our records.

Ambassador Jacobs is exactly the right person for this job. She not only has a distinguished record of service in the State Department, but she also has a track record of successfully leading critical reform efforts: she reorganized the Visa Office after 9/11 and reformed how the Department engages with law enforcement and intelligence communities to share information. As my Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs, she also led efforts to meet the Administration’s new visa issuance goals. She is a proven leader who knows how to run large organizations and produce results.

I am grateful she has agreed to take this on. She will have not only my full support, but that of the Department as well.
http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2015/09/246691.htm


I am glad your comment made me go to state.gov. This is fantastic and I hope she is able to succeed. CNN and Politico both miss the serious details of the amount of reform that is being described here. This could be Kerry's SD Administrative legacy if actually done.

[Dont call me Shirley]

7. I never thought Kerry would use that term. I'm tired of the msm using the term czar for dept. head

Ambassador is the term Kerry used, very diplomatic. I'm glad Kerry appointed a leader who is capable of dealing with the growing IT issue.

Thanks for the speech, karynnj.

[karynnj]

10. You never had said that - after your statement, I dd two things

1) I looked to get the full State Department statement.
2) Completely edited my own post in DU JK - replacing CNN with the statement.

I sincerely thank you for raising the point -- which is a good one especially as much of the media is copying CNN's word. Both CNN and Politico had essentially the same story - and it is not controversial - so I might not have looked at the State Department site. So, I am sincere in thanking you for having raised that point.

[Dont call me Shirley]

11. Thank you for your research, karynnj.

"It’s meaningless to ask a question about what "hiring czars" allows a president to do, because presidents don’t hire czars. "Czar" is a label bestowed by the media"

http://www.factcheck.org/2009/09/czar-search/

[former9thward]

12. FDR coined it.

He had 12 officials with that name in his administration.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._executive_branch_czars

[mylye2222]

8. Just saw that news. So glad that from now

State department will try its best to fix its Secretaries numeric policies and give more efficiently to transparency.

[left-of-center2012]

9. Does that mean ....

Does that mean using a personal server is wrong?

[TwilightGardener]

13. Not sure why he chose someone who donated $2600 to Clinton's campaign two months ago.

I mean seriously...they had no one else to choose? Why would this Janice Jacobs woman not want to protect her investment in Hillary's political future?