See the Unclassified Cable Sent by the State Department Banning Diplomats From Doing What Seemingly All of America Is Doing Right Now

While the ALS "ice bucket challenge" may be dominating your Facebook feed, don't expect to be seeing any videos from high-profile State Department officials. According to an unclassified cable obtained by the Associated Press, diplomats have been barred from participating.

From the AP:

Lawyers at the State Department have banned American ambassadors and other high-profile foreign service officers from participating in the ice-bucket challenge to raise money and awareness for Lou Gehrig's disease, also called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. In a cable sent this week to all U.S. diplomatic missions, they say it runs afoul of federal ethics rules barring officials from using public office for private gain "no matter how worthy the cause.

The cable is a five-point document from the secretary of state's office outlining the department's stance. You can see it below:

.@StateDept bars US diplomats from taking ALS ice bucket challenge" (Photo of cable below) https://t.co/2hka85M1aI” pic.twitter.com/Kn5YZ3IfOM

— Matt Lee (@APDiploWriter) August 21, 2014

(H/T: @neetzan)