US envoy to Singapore threatened staff, wasted money and created culture of ‘fear’, watchdog finds

The State Department’s inspector general said embassy employees interviewed as part of its regular review process “described a fear, and even direct threats, of reprisal” from Jonathan Kaplan, an entrepreneur and Democratic campaign donor who was confirmed as ambassador in late 2021.

Kaplan also “developed poor relationships with some Singaporean ministries,” which hurt progress on US efforts in the strategically important Asia-Pacific city state, the report found.

The findings will draw fresh scrutiny to successive presidents’ long-time practice of distributing ambassador jobs to campaign donors and political allies who have no diplomatic experience.

That was the case with Kaplan, an entrepreneur who invented the now-defunct Pure Digital Technologies’s Flip Video pocket camera and ventured into fast-casual dining ventures, but had never served in a government role. According to the Campaign Legal Centre, he donated more than US$100,000 to Democratic campaigns in the 10 years before his appointment.

Kaplan said in a statement that he takes “full responsibility for quickly addressing the concerns and recommendations found in the report.”

The inspector general’s report also recommended further investigation by the State Department into Kaplan’s conduct.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Biden is “comfortable that the State Department is taking this seriously” and wants “his representatives overseas and at home to act and to lead and to manage people with dignity and respect.”

A State Department spokesman said the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs and the Singapore embassy concur with the report’s recommendations to review the issues and have already taken steps to address them.

The Singapore ambassador