Three Current/Former @StateDept Employees Float to the Top in Crowded Bad News Cycle

March 5, 2021 By in Career Employees, Court Cases, Diplomatic Security, Elections, Foreign Service, FSOs, Political Appointees, Politics, Realities of the FS, State Department, WHA|Western Hemisphere

/Updated 7:28 pm EST with comment from State Department.

Ugh! Three in less than three weeks!
Three current and former employees of the State Department are currently in the news. One case before the court is a political appointee arrested in connection with the January 6 insurrection.  Apparently, the individual was not happy with the accommodations at the D.C. jail.  After the charges were read, the charged individual reportedly asked the court if he could sleep where there are no cockroaches everywhere. Via WaPo:
“I wonder if there’s a place where I can stay in detention where I don’t have cockroaches crawling over me while I attempt to sleep…I mean, I really haven’t slept all that much, your honor. It would be nice if I could sleep in a place where there were not cockroaches everywhere,” Klein said.
Two other cases involved career employees. We see that there are already calls for an investigation or firing of these employees on social media. Note that unlike political appointees, career employees have certain job protections (political appointees only need a big dog to look after them, see IO).
We’ll have to wait and see what happens with these cases.  The State Department (with few exceptions)  typically will not publicize or even elaborate on personnel actions, but it is likely that any actions possibly resulting from these cases could end up in the Foreign Service Grievance System, as provided by regulations. Cases that make news, even those noted for notoriety often take a while to go through the system. Exceptions are for cases where there is a criminal offense and an individual is charged; there is no grievance case then, only a court case.
Former political appointee Federico Klein was arrested in relation to the January 6 insurrection.
On March 4, a former political appointee at the State Department Federico Klein was arrested in connection with the January 6 insurrection. According to the Statement of Facts by an FBI agent:
Based upon the information provided by Tipster 1 and Witness 1, your affiant determined that KLEIN had been an employee of the United States Department ofState (DOS) on January 6, 2021. KLEIN resigned his position on January 19, 2021. You affiant also learned that, on January 6, 2021, KLEIN possessed a Top Secret security clearance that had been renewed in 2019.
On February 10, 2021, your affiant and a DOS Diplomatic Security Special Agent interviewed an identified individual ( hereinafter“Witness 2 , former colleague of KLEIN’s at DOS. Witness 2 andKLEIN worked together from approximately February 2019 through January 2021. KLEIN was a Schedule- C political appointee who began working at DOS in 2017 in the office of Brazilian and Southern Cone Affairs. Witness 2 worked with KLEIN in-person multiple times per week throughout the time they worked together. Witness 2 reported that they had no animosity towards KLEIN. Witness 2 last saw KLEIN on January 19, 2021; Witness 2 recalled the specific date because it was prior to President Biden’s inauguration and KLEIN’s resignation from DOS. Your affiant showed Witness 2 several still photographs from a video posted on YouTube that depicted some of the events at the United States Capitol onJanuary 6 ,2021. Witness 2 positively identified KLEIN in the photos.
During the March 5 DPB,  State Department spokesperson Ned Price said: 
“… we do not have a specific comment on Mr. Klein. This is a matter that’s being investigated by the FBI, and they are the appropriate agency to answer questions specific to the charges. I believe the Department of Justice will be in a position to provide more details on those charges today.
Generally speaking, Mr. Klein served as a Schedule C presidential employee at the Department of State from 2017 until his resignation in January. He worked as a staff assistant with the transition team and as a special assistant in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, but we of course wouldn’t comment on any pending criminal charges.”

Diplomatic Security’s Nick Sabruno made it to CNN, and not/not in a good way:
On March 4, CNN reported that Nick Sabruno, a top State Department diplomatic security official in Afghanistan was removed from his role for declaring the “death of America” and making racist comments about Kamala Harris in a post on his Facebook page when Trump lost the presidential election. In November 2020.  Uh, SDO fella, try not to pat your back too hard, you might break it!
“I think it is completely out of line. And I am damn proud of the steps we took to remove him from post pretty damn quickly,” said a State Department official familiar with the matter.

Foreign Service Officer Fritz Berggren made the news here, there, and in Israel:
On February 26, Politico’s Nahal Toosi reported that FSO  Fritz Berggren for several years has been publicly calling for the establishment of Christian nation-states, warning that white people face “elimination” and railing against Jews as well as Black Lives Matter and other social movements. He has a blog, and is on multiple social media platforms. He is big news in Israel and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has called for a full investigation. As of this writing, his blog remains up and appears to have regular updates.