WASHINGTON: The US government is probing one of its former woman diplomats and her security clearance has also been withdrawn, a report quoted US State Department as saying.
Robin Raphel recently served as a senior adviser on civilian aid to Pakistan.
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Raphel’s employment technically ended on 2 November, but her clearance was pulled in October.
“We are aware of this law enforcement matter,” Psaki said. “The State Department has been cooperating with our law enforcement colleagues on this matter. Ms Raphel’s appointment expired; she is no longer a State Department employee.”
The FBI declined to comment, but The Washington Post, which first reported the probe, said it was related to counterintelligence and that Raphel’s home in Washington had been searched on 21 October.
Raphel’s connections to Pakistan are deep as her late husband, Arnold Raphel, served as ambassador in Islamabad. Arnold Raphel was killed in a mysterious 1988 plane crash that also claimed the life of then Pakistani president General Ziaul Haq.
