Patio11 bribes State Department official

Sarah B. Rogers, the State Department’s undersecretary for public diplomacy, disclosed that Irish billionaire Patrick Collison paid about $11,900 for a Mediterranean trip she took with friends last November, shortly after entering government. Collison, Stripe’s co-founder and chief executive and a Meta board member, is described by Rogers as a longtime personal friend. The group traveled on his private plane and visited museums and historic sites in Egypt, Georgia and Greece; the State Department, Collison and economist Tyler Cowen said there were no business meetings. Rogers says the trip had been planned before her confirmation, that Collison covered costs for the whole group, and that she has never handled a government matter involving Stripe. The disclosure has received State Department legal review but has not been certified by the Office of Government Ethics.

Federal rules allow gifts rooted in personal friendship, but experts say the relationship and circumstances must be weighed, including whether a reasonable person might question the official’s impartiality. They could not determine from the available filing whether Rogers broke the law, but warned that an expensive vacation for a senior official can create an appearance of impropriety; one suggested the straightforward way to remove doubt was for Rogers to pay for it herself. The scrutiny comes as State Department officials face renewed attention over wealthy donors and access, prompting Secretary of State Marco Rubio to reiterate ethics requirements. Rogers has also publicly engaged with Collison’s social-media posts from her official account, while he has become a major political donor, including spending heavily against a proposed California wealth tax.