The Foreign Service Journal, October 2020

70 OCTOBER 2020 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS AFSA’s Legal Defense Fund Comes to the Rescue BY KEN KERO-MENTZ Last October, Congress subpoenaed a number of AFSA members during its impeachment proceedings against President Donald J. Trump. Several testified pub- licly before Congress, others privately. We realized that the legal fees AFSA members were incurring could quickly wipe out a lifetime of savings. We also realized that the $22,000 in AFSA’s Legal Defense Fund—established in 2007—would not last long. AFSA’s Governing Board and staff sprang into action. We updated the standard operating procedures (SOP) for the LDF to ensure we had adequate checks and balances, and put out alerts to our members, asking folks to chip in. The response was incred- ible, demonstrating once again the true meaning of “esprit de corps.” Some members shared AFSA’s appeal on social media, encouraging their own friends and family to support the LDF. We set up an easy- to-use “donate here” feature on AFSA’s webpage. Within weeks, as dona- tions came in, we were able to reassure members in need that we would be able to help. During this stress- ful time, as one recipient said, the LDF “came to the rescue.” So here we are a year later, and the story of the LDF continues. The good news is that, in one year, the LDF raised nearly $750,000 from more than 2,650 individual donors—nearly 90 percent of whom are AFSA members. We’ve assisted more than a dozen members and worked closely with their attorneys, when possible, to ensure that the LDF’s funds will last. And that’s important because just last month, another member called us, concerned that he would require an outside attorney to assist him as some senators continue to pursue investigations of past dealings in Ukraine. AFSA’s legal team also developed a list of law firms willing to work with mem- bers at reduced rates or on a pro-bono basis during this particularly challenging time. Since its inception, the LDF has assisted members from State, USAID and FCS, and is here to help those who meet the criteria outlined in the fund’s SOP, which can be found at bit.ly/afsaldf. By carefully managing the LDF’s resources, today we have roughly $325,000 in the fund and have paid legal fees of nearly $420,000. And although bills continue to come in, the pace has slowed. The pride I felt watching our Foreign Service col- leagues fulfill their obliga- tions to the Constitution by testifying before Congress while courageously speaking truth to power was second only to the pride I had at the response from AFSA members, and our friends and families, in supporting the LDF. We don’t know what the future holds, but our mem- bers deserve to know that— when needed—AFSA is here for you. n Ken Kero-Mentz is chair of the five-member Legal Defense Fund Committee. AFSAGoverning Board Meeting, Aug. 19, 2020 Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the AFSA Governing Board met via Zoom conference on Aug. 19. The board made the following decisions, which will need to be ratified at the next in-person Governing Board meeting, according to AFSA bylaws. APHIS: The Governing Board appointed Russell Duncan as the APHIS representative to the board. He replaces Jeffrey Austin. Memorial Plaques: The board adopted recommen- dations to fund the expansion of the AFSA memorial plaques, at a cost of up to $64,720, in the lobby of the Department of State Truman building. The board also approved placing the name of a For- eign Service officer on the memorial plaques. Elections Committee: The board appointed Dao M. Le to serve on the AFSA Committee on Elections. Legal Defense Fund: The board approved disbursal of $52,430 from the Legal Defense Fund to pay the legal fees for a member who testified before Congress last year during the impeachment hearings. n In one year, the LDF raised nearly $750,000 from more than 2,650 individual donors.