First appearance on Fox: Energy watchdog group Power the Future (PTF) on Tuesday filed a federal freedom of information lawsuit against the Biden administration for withholding information about John Kerry’s taxpayer-funded Special Envoy for Climate Affairs (SPEC) staff. .
PTF filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, naming the State Department as defendant. The agency, which houses the multimillion-dollar SPEC office, has repeatedly refused to release the names and titles of Kelly’s staff and has similarly resisted congressional oversight related to the issue, according to the complaint. .
“For nearly three years, John Kerry has been flying jets to international climate conferences while sending taxpayers a bill,” PTF Executive Director Daniel Turner told Fox News Digital. “Today, we begin the process of teaching John Kerry and Joe Biden that they are working for the taxpayers. No one should waste resources on litigation, but John Mr. Kelly believes he can take his firm off the books, so that is our only option.”
“Americans are exposed to countless environmental mandates and regulations, gas stove bans, and rising utility costs without consent or input, and many of these decisions are made by President John Kerry’s office. “It is determined by this,” he continued. “That’s why this lawsuit finally brings to light the information we deserve to know, including the names of staff members, the office’s goals and budget, and the outside partnerships that are spreading influence over Joe Biden’s environmental policy. I hope it comes out.”
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Special Envoy for Climate Change John Kerry will attend the opening ceremony of the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP28 on November 30th in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Mahmoud Khaled/COP28 via Getty Images)
In January, the PTF filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the State Department asking for a false list of Mr. Kelly’s staff. The request came after the Boston Herald reported that it had obtained a FOIA document listing the titles and salaries of employees in the SPEC office, but the names of the individuals holding the positions were redacted.
Kelly’s staff, which ranges from “policy analyst” to “senior adviser,” receive a combined annual salary of $4.3 million, according to the Boston Herald. Some of the unnamed officials receive salaries as high as $186,680 a year, making them among the highest paid people in the federal government.
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In 2022, Fox News Digital reported that the State Department has earmarked an annual budget of $13.9 million for the SPEC office and authorized 45 employees. But while Fox News Digital was able to identify several officials hired by Mr. Kelly using public databases Leadership Connect and LinkedIn profiles, the State Department declined to share additional information. He has refused and remains tight-lipped about the operation.
In early 2021, President Biden appointed Kerry to lead the administration’s international climate diplomacy efforts. (Jacqueline Martin/AP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Last year, Mr. Kelly declined to name the staffers at a Congressional hearing, explaining that it was not “the process required of the State Department.”
However, the PTF complaint notes that the State Department said it would reveal the names and titles of senior officials in the SPEC office in October 2024. The complaint alleges that delaying disclosure until then “suggests that the State Department intends to selectively withhold this information to prevent it from becoming public.” We aim to popularize it by the current fiscal year, 2024. ”
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“John Kerry and his secret climate office are not immune from scrutiny and certainly not above the law,” Turner said on Tuesday.
Additionally, the lawsuit says records in response to a January FOIA request will shed light on SPEC’s potential involvement in a plan led by the United Nations Foundation to staff the state’s high-level climate change office. Says.
House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) has repeatedly investigated John Kerry’s activities. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images | Stefan Wermuth/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
He added that the records show how “ideological private entities are paying an already highly idiosyncratic and completely opaque State Department ‘staff.'”
Meanwhile, since President Biden appointed him as special climate envoy in early 2021, Kerry has been involved in global climate summits and diplomacy to push for an aggressive transition from fossil fuel power generation to alternative green energy sources. Traveling around the world attending activities.
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Kelly announced in January that he would soon resign from his post to support Biden’s presidential campaign. The White House last week named John Podesta, senior climate change adviser, to replace Mr. Kerry.
The State Department did not respond to requests for comment.
