State Department Records & The Elections

By Tasha Thian

The U.S. Department of State has been center stage in our Presidential elections. At first glance it may seem odd that a foreign policy agency could so significantly impact domestic Presidential elections but it has on several occasions in the recent past. We cannot escape the near constant news media and Congressional attention concerning the 2016 Presidential election. Secretary Clinton’s use of a private email server, why she lost the election, and concerns about the legitimacy of the Presidency are nearly daily topics in news media reports. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice, Inspector Generals of the Intelligence community, and the Department of State conducted inquiries. Yet it is not easy to put the pieces together to understand what really happened. Records and Information Management expert and former Department of State Records Officer Tasha Thian tells the untold, behind the scenes story with never before released material that is certain to surprise the readers.
State Department Records & the Elections will shed light on the inter-workings of government, the impact of our political system on agencies and their staffs, and why records management and information access are so important to our American experience. You will learn about U.S. citizenship laws and how they relate to the Presidency, why Department of State records are important, what happens when political parties seek protected information, and the various investigations and news media outcry that ensues during very contentious and hotly debated elections. Tasha Thian gives an eye witness account and detailed analysis of records activities as they related to the Bill Clinton Passport File Search, the Hillary Clinton Email Server investigation, and on a number of other famous politicians, as well as other significant events.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gatekeeper Press
• Release date: Nov 26, 2018
• ISBN: 9781642373509

Book preview

life.

Preface

For many years, I’ve wanted to write a book about my experiences at the U.S. Department of State. I felt that I was a witness to history, working in the shadows of some of the most newsworthy events in recent history. My jobs were never boring and I took great pride in my work and the work done by many of my fellow government employees. Yes, there were situations when people did not live up to the standards we hold so dearly, but the vast majority did. It is my desire to fairly describe the facts to the best of my knowledge. I hope you find this book fascinating and that it will shed light on the inter-workings of government, the impact of our political system on agencies and their staffs, and why records management and information access are so important to our American experience.

Introduction

The U.S. Department of State has been center stage in our presidential elections. At first glance it may seem odd that a foreign policy agency could so significantly impact domestic presidential elections but it has on several occasions in the recent past. We cannot escape the near-constant news media and Congressional attention concerning the 2016 presidential election. Secretary Clinton’s use of a private email server, why she lost the election, and concerns about the legitimacy of the presidency are daily topics in news media reports. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice, Inspectors General of the intelligence community and the Department of State have conducted inquiries, yet it is not easy to put the pieces together to understand what really happened. Records and Information Management expert and former Department of State Records Officer Tasha Thian tells the untold, behind the scenes story with never-before released material that is certain to surprise the readers.

State Department Records & the Elections will shed light on the inter-workings of government, the impact of our political system on agencies and their staffs, and why records management and information access are so important to our American experience. Readers will learn about U.S. citizenship laws and how they relate to the presidency, why Department of State records are important, what happens when political parties seek protected information, and the various investigations and news media outcry that ensues during very contentious and hotly debated elections. Tasha Thian gives an eyewitness account and detailed analysis of records activities as they related to the Bill Clinton Passport File Search, the Hillary Clinton Email Server investigation, as well as other significant events surrounding a number of other famous politicians.

1

The Early Years

Many people over the years have asked me what it was like to work at the Department of State. Without hesitation I would tell them it was awesome, an amazing place. Sure, there were a handful of people that were problematic but the vast majority of the people were hardworking, dedicated professionals keen on serving the public and the Department’s mission. The Department had at its core diplomacy; diplomacy which ran through the Department’s veins. The mission is so noble—essentially being global peacemakers—it’s almost biblical in many ways. I felt proud to be a part of the Department; it was truly a blessing. To fully understand the Department’s culture, it is important to know that diplomacy core. Staff are typically treated well by management and other internal officers. There is a politeness and willingness to be helpful to others. This was very good but at times getting to the diplomatic yes or no sometimes took some doing.

After college, my husband wanted to move to the San Francisco Bay area. The unemployment office there told me about a temporary, part-time, night shift passport examiner position at the San Francisco Passport Agency, U.S. Department of State. I thought, Gee, if I could get my foot in the door, I could have a federal government career. I started in March 1984 along with several others working on the backlog of passport applications.

Passport applications were everywhere, in boxes lined up by the windows and on shelves. My fellow passport examiners and I were trained on adjudicating passport applications based on U.S. citizenship laws. We reviewed the citizenship and identity evidence and made determinations as to whether to approve or disapprove the applications. It wasn’t long before we were proficient with the routine renewal applications and learning the more complex citizenship cases. We had to process 160 applications a day or more as our performance requirement. I will never forget the Deputy Regional Director walking past us saying, Get your 200 applications a day, which was his personal goal for us to attack the backlog. It does sound like a lot but it didn’t feel like a production house. Rather it was a steady flow of work product, particularly when there was a good mix of renewal applications with first-time applications. Sometimes I worked the public counter interviewing the applicants or I would work the information desk. I loved having direct contact with customers.

Slowly we were converted to seasonal status and worked full-time during the day. When the Bureau’s Human Resources Officer visited our agency, we found out that we held a strange employment status and were not truly in the civil service. This troubled me very much. I found out there was a full-time vacancy open for the Communications Section Chief position. I inquired about it and management was excited to have the position filled by a passport examiner. It was my first supervisory position and I was just twenty-five years old. I supervised six information clerks and gave guidance to rotating passport examiners that staffed the phones. My section received 500 calls a day. We would answer citizenship, passport, and travel-related questions. The clerks also processed correspondence that was sent to passport applicants regarding any issues with their passport applications.

It was in this position that I met my first and only true government mentor: Cynthia Gethers, Regional Director. Even though she was my second-level supervisor, I went to her directly on most issues. She taught me that we can change most anything except the law. She would say, It’s only 5% law; the rest we can change. I know she got exhausted with all of my questions but when she said that, it always stuck with me. It set me free knowing that processes and technologies can be changed or updated to be more efficient.

Cindy was a trained Computer Specialist and I would ask her so many questions about how the passport processing system worked. With her help we developed a way to track lost/unassociated documents in the system. These were documents separated from their applications that could not be matched up with the current applicants in the system. Cindy was truly ahead of her time. Her guidance stuck with me and opened my mind to all management possibilities. Although we worked together for only a year, it was her guidance that inspired me throughout my career. With many process improvements, my section came to the notice of Passport Services’ Headquarters where we were recognized as a model Communications Section.

Unfortunately, because of the high cost of living (there were no cost of living adjustments for high-cost regions then), we couldn’t afford to live there. I applied for a Paralegal Specialist position dealing with passport and citizenship issues in Washington, D.C. and relocated there in July 1986. This was a very interesting position that dealt with difficult citizenship cases, Consular Reports of Birth Abroad, Reports of Death Abroad, and a vast array of passport records. The public would ask for citizenship evidence and other related questions. The Passport Correspondence Branch was very much like a State government vital records department, issuing certified or authenticated records with the seal and signature of the Secretary of State. As a Paralegal Specialist, I reviewed the citizenship evidence that was in passport files and advised requesters of their citizenship status. This sometimes took a lot of research to locate and interpret the files. We were reviewing mostly the complex cases where children were born abroad to American parent(s).

One of the most fascinating cases I had was a gentleman I informally called three times a citizen. His is a perfect example of how the U.S. citizenship laws changed over time and how our citizens are affected by historical events. Three Times was born in Canada in the 1920s to an American citizen father. Because of this, Three Times was considered a U.S. citizen at birth. When World War II broke out, he joined the Canadian army and fought in the war. After the war, he married and decided to move his family to America. Upon visiting the American Embassy, he was asked to complete a questionnaire. In it, he stated he had fought in the war for Canada, a foreign government. Because of this, he lost his U.S. citizenship. However, because Canada was an ally, there were special provisions and he could swear an oath of allegiance to the United States and be considered a naturalized U.S. citizen at the time of his oath.

The paperwork took some time and was eventually approved. Three Times then again went back to the embassy to prepare for the relocation of his family and complete the necessary documentation when he was again asked to fill out the questionnaire. This time, he said he had voted in a foreign country election. Because of this, he lost his U.S. citizenship again. He had to change his plans and remained in Canada most of his life. Years later, he visited the U.S. and talked with a Border Patrol agent who told him that the Supreme Court had overturned the loss of citizenship on people who had simply voted in a foreign election.

At this point, Three Times wrote to us to find out his status. Even to this day I get emotional thinking about the letter that I wrote to him. Can you imagine receiving after so many years a signed letter from the U.S. Department of State saying, Your date and place of birth and United States citizenship are of record with the Department of State. I went on to explain the circumstances and that he was considered a naturalized U.S. citizen at the time he signed the oath of allegiance. He was a U.S. citizen at birth, then a naturalized U.S. citizen, then for a time he was considered not a citizen because of voting until the Supreme Court overturned retroactively voting in a foreign election as a reason to lose citizenship. He was a U.S. citizen for many years and didn’t know it.

Another case that always stuck with me was a gentleman who needed proof of U.S. citizenship to apply for Social Security benefits. He was a World War II veteran and was born in Italy in the 1920s. The only document he could remember seeing was his aunt’s passport where he was included when he was about eight years old. Immediately I thought that was pretty weird to be included on the passport of a non-parent’s passport. (Joint passports are no longer issued but it was a practice for many years.) Researching his mother’s and his files was one of the most unique cases I ever encountered. The sheer size of