(CNSNews.com) – Despite now being 113 days past the federally mandated deadline for releasing the 2014 Human Rights Reports, Rear Adm. (ret.) John Kirby, the newly appointed spokesperson for the State Department, said during a press briefing on Thursday that “of course [Obama officials] have to obey the law” that requires the department to release the annual reports by Feb. 25.
Kirby then blamed the historical and largely unexplained delay on Secretary of State John Kerry’s “very intense travel schedule” and “routine staff and administrative delays.” Kirby also declined to say whether the reports are actually completed and when they will be released.
“Okay, so they have been completed then,” CNSNews.com pressed.
“I’m not going to talk about, you know, how dry the ink is on these things,” said Kirby. “But I can tell you that we will release the report very, very soon.”
“Well it’s now 113 days late [on June 18], which is a historical record by almost a month,” CNSNews.com continued. “The Foreign Assistance Act mandates that these things be released by February 25 of every year. Does the Obama administration believe that they have any obligation to obey that law?”
“Well, of course, we have to obey the law. We know we’re late. We’re working on the report. We’ll have it out very soon,” Kirby stated before attempting to move on.
Another reporter followed up, “But could you say why it’s -- I mean, it seems to be late every year. Is like, this year dif -- I mean maybe this year is a little bit longer, but they never come out on time. So --.”
“I’m not going to talk about, you know, how dry the ink is on these things,” said Kirby. “But I can tell you that we will release the report very, very soon.”
“Well it’s now 113 days late [on June 18], which is a historical record by almost a month,” CNSNews.com continued. “The Foreign Assistance Act mandates that these things be released by February 25 of every year. Does the Obama administration believe that they have any obligation to obey that law?”
“Well, of course, we have to obey the law. We know we’re late. We’re working on the report. We’ll have it out very soon,” Kirby stated before attempting to move on.
Another reporter followed up, “But could you say why it’s -- I mean, it seems to be late every year. Is like, this year dif -- I mean maybe this year is a little bit longer, but they never come out on time. So --.”
“I can’t speak to the institutional history of homework here at the State Department. But again, we’ve acknowledged that it’s late. We understand that. We know the concerns surrounding that. It will be out very soon, very soon,” Kirby said before moving to a different topic.
Via: CNS News
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