Biden admin. delays records release LGBT advocacy spending

A nonpartisan national security think tank has filed a lawsuit in search of answers from the Biden administration about how taxpayers are supporting Jessica Stern, an LGBT activist who serves as the U.S. Special Envoy to Advance the Human Rights of “LGBTQI+ Persons” and makes over $180,000 a year. 

The Center to Advance Security in America filed the lawsuit against the U.S. State Department after submitting two Freedom of Information Act requests for records related to Stern in March 2024. The organization provided The Christian Post with a copy of the lawsuit and records request on Tuesday.

The Christian Post reached out to The State Department. A response was not immediately received. 

Get Our Latest News for FREE

Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know.

In September 2021, President Joe Biden appointed Stern as the U.S. Special Envoy to Advance the Human Rights of “LGBTQI+ Persons,” a role previously held by Randy Berry from its inception in 2015 until 2017. According to public records cited by Open Payrolls, Stern had a reported pay of $183,100 in 2022, which is 152.6% higher than the average pay for federal agency employees and 164.0% higher than the national average for government employees.

Through the FOIA requests, CASA sought information concerning the LGBT activist’s communications with relevant officials, including U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The organization also wanted all emails, text messages, chat sessions, or other forms of written or electronic communication used to discuss Stern. 

CASA also requested records of communications between any officials listed in the suit and several media outlets, including CNN, The Los Angeles Times, NBC News and The Washington Post. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International were also cited in the lawsuit, with CASA seeking communications records exchanged between the groups and named officials.

“CASA submitted this FOIA request because we believe the American people deserve to know about the specific details regarding the worldwide travel of Special Envoy Stern who is being paid a government salary to promote the LGBT agenda worldwide,” CASA Director James Fitzpatrick said in a statement provided to CP on Tuesday. 

“After submitting this request in March and having not received a single record yet, we decided to bring suit to force the Department of State to comply with the law and provide Special Envoy Stern’s travel records immediately.”

According to the lawsuit, the State Department sent CASA two emails on March 20, indicating that it had received the request and that the think tank would “receive a formal acknowledgment to [its] request in no later than 10 working days.” Another email stated that the status of CASA’s request had been updated to “Received.”

Over May 3, the agency sent a formal acknowledgment of CASA’s first request, claiming that it would “not be able to respond within the 20 days provided by the statute due to ‘unusual circumstances.'” The department stated it would need “to search for and collect requested records from other Department offices or Foreign Service posts.”

The lawsuit alleges that the State Department did not communicate with CASA further after sending the email in May. The organization has not received any additional responses relating to its first request. 

Around March 23, CASA submitted a second FOIA request seeking information about Stern’s travel records, meeting requests, expense reports and other records deemed relevant. The nonpartisan organization also sought records of written or electronic communication used to discuss the travel for the U.S. Envoy to Advance “LGBTQI+ Persons.” 

“DOS sent its formal acknowledgment of the Second Request by email 33 working days later on May 7, 2024,” the lawsuit stated. “In this email, DOS stated that it would ‘not be able to respond within the 20 days provided by the statute due to ‘unusual circumstances'” caused by the department’s “need to search for and collect requested records from other Department offices or Foreign Service posts.”

The complaint asserts that the State Department did not communicate any further with CASA regarding the second FOIA request after sending the email. CASA argues that the department has failed to fulfill “its statutory obligations to provide the requested records for the requests.”

“The release of these documents is in the public interest because it will help the public understand whether the U.S. government is appropriately using taxpayer resources,” the suit states. “CASA’s explicit purpose in requesting these documents is to inform the public so it can be engaged with its leaders and ensure their decisions are consistent with America’s best interests.”