Diplomats Sue to Get Data on Bush Nominees

WASHINGTON —  The union that represents career diplomats sued the State Department in federal court Friday, seeking to obtain documents that it said “clearly demonstrate the lack of qualifications” of many Bush Administration ambassadorial nominees.

The move was taken after several White House ambassadorial nominees were criticized on grounds that they have neither diplomatic skills nor background knowledge of the countries to which they are being sent.

Democratic senators have suggested that many won favor with the Administration through political contributions or their skill at raising funds for the Republican Party in the 1988 election campaign.

Among the nominees who have drawn the most complaints is Peter Secchia, who helped President Bush carry Michigan last year and was named ambassador to Italy. Many Italians were upset when he joked that the new Italian navy has glass-bottom boats “so they can see the old Italian navy.”

The diplomats’ union, formally known as the American Foreign Service Assn., filed the suit to obtain release of certificates of competence that the law requires the President to submit to the Senate on the qualifications of each nominee.

It said the State Department maintains that the reports are confidential and has refused to provide them to union officers.