Bowfinger
Lifer
- Nov 17, 2002
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So are you retracting your assertion that, "it's a legally REQUIRED separation statement" in favor of a DSF-wishes-this-were-true? See my many previous comments about replacing facts with speculation and innuendo.I doubt there's a law per se, but an extremely strict policy to safeguard national security. State Department employees should automatically suffer consequences for not signing this document, the first being a full investigation of potential security violations. Is this not reasonable?
To be clear, I do agree it seems reasonable to require it. It just isn't a law.
Here are a couple of links that might shed a bit more light than you'll ever get from the professional liars of the wing-nut media:
Two key points bolded above. First, it appears neither Powell or Rice completed that form either. While three wrongs don't make a right, it undermines the argument that Clinton was somehow unusual in not completing the form.http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/hillary-clinton-state-department-exit-form-116152.html
[ ... ]
“We have reviewed Secretary Clinton’s official personnel file and administrative files and do not have any record of her signing the” form, State spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters at a regular briefing.
Psaki said there also is no record of the form being completed by Clinton’s two most recent predecessors, Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell.
While Clinton critics have described the form as a routine part of the State Department’s processing of departing employees, Psaki said that the document — found in State’s policy manual — may not have been filled out so widely.
“It’s not clear that this form is used as a part of a standard part of checkout across the federal government or even at the State Department,” she said. “We’re looking into how standard this is across the federal government and certainly at the State Department. … I don’t want to characterize how common practice it is.” ...
Second, the State Department spokesperson further corroborates the point that completing the form is NOT universally required and rigidly enforced.
Also, here's a link to the State manual establishing this policy (not a law): http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/88406.pdf
See page 5. Note that although the wording implies an OF-109 should be completed, it does not actually state it must be completed. It also defines no penalties or other consequences for failing to follow the policy.
