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March 17, 2009 5:22 PM PDT

Obama's CIO returns to work after temporary leave

by Stephanie Condon
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The recently appointed federal chief information officer returned to work Tuesday, after temporarily stepping down in response to the arrest of one of his former employees on bribery charges.

Vivek Kundra took a leave of absence from his position as federal CIO last week after an FBI raid of the District of Columbia's office of the chief technology officer. The FBI raid coincided with the arrest of two individuals charged with conspiracy to commit bribery, including one man who worked in the government office while Kundra served as D.C. chief technology officer.

The defendant Yusuf Acar allegedly attempted to exploit his responsibility for government contracts in the CTO office to defraud the city government. Kundra is not a target of the ongoing investigation.

President Obama appointed Kundra as federal CIO earlier this month. In his role as D.C. chief technology officer and also as the federal CIO, Kundra has emphasized the need for transparency in government information technology procurements.

The White House confirmed to CNET News on Tuesday that Kundra has returned to his position as CIO, following various news reports.

"Mr. Kundra has been informed that he is neither a subject nor a target of the investigation and has been reinstated," said White House Spokesman Nick Shapiro.

Stephanie Condon is a staff writer for CNET News focused on the intersection of technology and politics. She is based in Washington, D.C. E-mail Stephanie.
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by sanenazok March 17, 2009 8:22 PM PDT
Did anyone notice that he was gone? What was he supposed to be doing that didn't get done since the Feds were investigating his office? How about a whole bunch of nothin' Here's some transparency for you...what is this new CTO supposed to be for other than to reward a campaign official? Also, didn't Kundra hire and retain this Acar, and if so shouldn't he be responsible for bad decisions?
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by SohailAhmed March 18, 2009 4:33 AM PDT
Acar was not hired by Kundra. Acar was at the agency for years prior. New initiatives to increase transparency make it easier to bring problems to light (as evidenced by the FBI being able to step in with lots of evidence).

Also note that the CIO under the OMB is a completely different position than the future CTO appointment.
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