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Feds’ Etiquette Office Plagued by Indecorous Behavior: Watchdog

Sean Lawler, former State Department chief of protocol, reportedly cracked a whip in the office and drank red wine during meetings.

The federal watchdog office in charge of overseeing the State Department has found that the office in charge of diplomatic decorum was itself plagued by indecorous behavior, The Washington Post reports. The Office of the Chief of Protocol arranges the trappings of state dinners and enforcing rules of etiquette, but the watchdog found that its former head Sean Lawler committed “workplace violence” when he toted a whip around the office and cracked it and that his deputies, current chief of protocol Cam Henderson and deputy Mary-Kate Fisher, failed to report the behavior. According to the Post, employees described a workplace marked by yelling, cursing, drunkenness, and intimidation. Employees said Lawler would throw binders in fits of rage and would often drink red wine during work hours to calm himself down. Lawler disputed the allegations.