WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - A transparency lawsuit filed against John Kerry’s Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate (SPEC) at the State Department has yielded information suggesting ties to hostile foreign governments, according to a federal watchdog.
Protect the Public’s Trust is alleging through documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) that the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is connected to the Chinese government and has influenced policies established by President Biden’s administration.
“SPEC is a very powerful office with a large budget and staffed by individuals from special interest organizations that appear to benefit greatly from the administration's agenda,” said Michael Chamberlain, director of Protect the Public’s Trust.
“Led by a Cabinet-level official who did not have to go through Senate confirmation, John Kerry's team is shaping policy on some of the Biden Administration's most impactful priorities during an energy and inflation crisis.”
The documents also reveal that several of NRDC’s top executives have worked with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The NRDC is a non-profit with more than $450 million in total assets that has worked on climate issues in China.
PPT is concerned because U.S. federal agencies exist to make decisions and enact policy that furthers the interests of the American public.
“Exposing the backroom negotiations with special interests that appear dead set on ignoring our self-imposed energy crisis is likely to bring substantial congressional scrutiny on a climate office with a significant budget and penchant for keeping their plans off paper,” Chamberlain said. “Unfortunately for them, the American public has every right to know what is going on behind the curtain in Kerry’s office and PPT intends to pull that curtain back.”
Although documents obtained from the Department through litigation are heavily redacted, PPT was able to discern the information about SPEC’s activities.
“It is difficult to understand why there is so much secrecy surrounding this office, however, the revelations contained in the documents we have received so far demonstrate there may be things they don't want the public to know and that there may be outsized influence from powerful special interests,” Chamberlain told Legal Newsline. “That is usually not received well by the public once it's exposed.”
In their original response to the FOIA inquiry, the Department declared it would not be able to complete the FOIA request until November 18, 2024, after the next Presidential election, according to a press release.