Amb. Douglas Kmiec has submitted his resignation to President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Kmiec was criticized in a State IG report (pdf) for spending too much time and embassy resources on private writing and outside events. Now, the AP reports, Kmiec will step down in August.
That will come as a relief to those at the embassy and main State who complained to the IG about the time required to clear Kmiec’s outside articles. In one instance, a State source tells me, Kmiec’s request for clearance was denied and his wife re-purposed the story in an odd dialogue with the LA Times, here.
But it may be less welcome news to Obama, who got a lot of press for the support Kmiec, a conservative Catholic, gave him in that important voting bloc.
