The U.S. Government continues to employ a person who has a blog and podcast that targets Jews, people of color, LGBTQ+ and others.
This is not a story about a secret blog by this State Department employee. It's a story about how the U.S. Government, despite numerous complaints, including from members of Congress, is still employing Fritz Berggren, a State Department employee, full time.
"I think there's reason for concern in terms of what that does to our country's image," said Ambassador Eric Rubin. He served abroad on behalf of the United States multiple times and now heads up the organization that represents U.S. Foreign Service officers worldwide. He agreed to sit down with Scripps News for an interview about Berggren's inflammatory posts."I hope not," he said.
"He would always display magazines, very, very pro-right magazines in his office," this employee explained."I know that he was definitely making certain groups of people, especially in the housing community where he lived, he made people feel very uncomfortable." This employee told Scripps News management was aware of comments he was making in a work setting, but preferred to keep the peace.This colleague says it was a derogatory comment Berggren made to a Black co-worker that triggered others in the Embassy to begin to look at his social media accounts. They soon found Berggren's blog — where he'd sometimes file his thoughts multiple times a day while he was serving in Bahrain.
We asked Ambassador Rubin what the rules are for Foreign Service officers while serving abroad when it comes to exercising free speech on personal time but living on government property. Berggren posted during the workweek — but it is unclear if he posted during the workday.Eric Rubin: I don't think so. We are on 24/7, representing our country, and our behavior, and our actions reflect on our country.
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