A report released Thursday by the State Department inspector general’s office (OIG) criticized U.S. ambassador to Malta and Pepperdine School of Law professor Douglas Kmiec.
The report accuses Kmiec of devoting too much time to non-official work much of which relates to his Catholic faith. “Based on a belief that he was given a special mandate to promote President Obama’s interfaith initiatives he has devoted considerable time to writing articles for publication in the United States as well as in Malta the report reads.
The report also notes hostility between Kmiec and State Department officials; His unconventional approach to his role as ambassador has created friction with principal officials in Washington especially over his reluctance to accept their guidance and instructions it says.
Ambassador Kmiec has devoted a considerable amount of his time in Malta to writing not related to his post as ambassador, which the report criticizes him for, His approach has required Department principals as well as some embassy staff to spend an inordinate amount of time reviewing his writings speeches and other initiatives. His official schedule has been uncharacteristically light for an ambassador at a post of this size and on average he spends several hours of each work day in the residence much of which appears to be devoted to his nonofficial writings.”
In response to the criticism Kmiec wrote in a statement to his embassy staff “Let me just say that the criticism levied in my direction is neither accurate nor reflective of the proud history practice nor constitutional structure with which I shall always choose to hold the U.S. Department of State.”
Later in the statement he continues “I must say that I am troubled and saddened that a handful of individuals within my Department in Washington seem to manifest a hostility to expressions of faith and efforts to promote better inter-faith understanding as a means of advancing the President’s own goal of greater mutual respect arising from enhanced mutual understanding.”
According to the OIC report Kmiec does remain popular among citizens of Malta a country in which abortion remains illegal and the vast majority of citizens are Roman Catholic.
Kmiec who was appointed as Ambassador to Malta by President Obama in 2009 gained national attention in 2008 for publicly supporting Obama’s candidacy. The ambassador who is pro-life and a practicing catholic was criticized heavily by some for supporting the pro-choice candidate in his book “Can a Catholic Support Him? Asking The Big Questions About Barack Obama.” Kmiec had previously served in the Office of Legal Council in both the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations.
The report from the OIC recommends “The Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs should require the Ambassador to report on his efforts to refocus attention on mission priorities and eliminate his use of embassy and Department resources on nonofficial writings.”
Kmiec indicates in the statement to his staff that he plans to continue his controversial writings “I am sorry they feel this way but I cannot (and do not) apologize for it since our Constitution proudly protects the free exercise of religion – even for Ambassadors. It is an especially odd criticism since my friendship with the President began out of his discernment that too much of politics had been used to divide us sometimes by excluding people of faith.”