Secretary of State John Kerry has appointed an official to lead the State Department’s response to requests through the Freedom of Information Act and by Congress as scrutiny of Hillary Clinton’s emails intensifies.
Kerry tapped Ambassador Janice Jacobs, a career diplomat, as the agency’s “transparency czar” Tuesday in anticipation of a report from the State Department inspector general about how the agency handles federal records.
Jacobs will be tasked with implementing the watchdog’s recommendations, spokesman John Kirby said.
“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,” Kerry said in a statement about Jacobs’ appointment. “It is time to take further action.”
Jacobs reformed the State Department’s information-sharing practices with the intelligence community and law enforcement agencies, and reorganized the visa office after 9/11, Kerry noted.
Kirby said the transparency coordinator will report directly to Kerry.
The State Department has cited burdens on its resources from the high volume of Clinton emails under review for its slow response to FOIA requests and congressional inquiries.
