Bank Rebukes Wolfowitz On Ethics

[MADem]

Source: Washington Post, Business Section

Bank Rebukes Wolfowitz On Ethics
Rules Were Broken, Committee Says

By Peter S. Goodman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 15, 2007; Page D01

A World Bank investigating committee sharply rebuked President Paul D. Wolfowitz, concluding that he broke ethics rules and undermined the integrity of the institution in engineering a hefty pay raise for his girlfriend.

"These actions manifest a lack of understanding for and a disregard for the institution as a public international organization," declared the committee's report, which was distributed to the bank's executive directors yesterday and released publicly last night. It calls on the executive board to assess "whether Mr. Wolfowitz will be able to provide the leadership needed to ensure that the bank continues to operate to the fullest extent possible."

In a written response, Wolfowitz maintained that he acted in good faith in seeking to resolve an obvious conflict of interest. He accused the bank's ethics committee of forcing him to oversee the raise for his longtime companion, Shaha Riza, as compensation for her transfer to a different job. The ethics panel was afraid to confront her, Wolfowitz said, because its members knew she was "extremely angry and upset."

The ethics committee told Wolfowitz he could not directly supervise Riza, who also worked at the bank, after he arrived in 2005. He said, however, that the panel declined to oversee her job transfer...."Its members did not want to deal with a very angry Ms. Riza, whose career was being damaged as a result of their decision," Wolfowitz said in his response to the investigating committee's report. "It would only be human nature for them to want to steer clear of her."



Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/14/AR2007051401624.html?hpid=moreheadlines

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The overall story isn't new, but the committee report with the REBUKE is. The anticipated 'no confidence' vote tonight is, too.

What a scuzzball. He personallly makes the (excessively generous) deal to get his ladyfriend out from under to avoid people blaming him for conflict of interest, and then, probably because of the obscenity of the deal that he made, people gripe about it. So how does he resolve this aspect? He BLAMES HIS GIRLFRIEND!! That big, bad ethics board 'didn't want to deal with her' he claims--he might as well have said she's a harridan, a TERROR!!!

He did say this, that she's VERY angry! UPSET!! INTRACTABLE! Steer CLEAR of her!!! She INSISTED on salary raises over time!!

Are these the sorts of sweet words a woman wants to see printed in a national publication as descriptors used by her aging boyfriend? I'd say the bloom is off that rose of a romance...

If the vote of no confidence, expected tonight, does come to pass, the Administration is going to have some troubles. I don't think all the phone calls and pleading they're doing are gonna save this guy's job.

[spanone]

1. Will they have to carry his sorry ass out the door?

[ccpup]

2. Oooooooooo,

I'd pay good money to see that. Not Monopoly Money, mind you, but real dollars and cents.

[MADem]

4. So would I--that's almost as good as Red Sox tickets! nt

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. Nice job if you can get it

Claim you are such a high flyer that you would have got promoted, but, since your boyfriend is now in charge of the organisation, you better be given the raises anyway, and get shunted off to some job where you don't have to do any real work at all:

QUESTION: I wanted to ask you something kind of on the margins of the whole World Bank Shaha Riza matter, and that is that, as you remember, Secretary Rice announced the formation or at least the launch of this Foundation for the Future in, I think, November of 2005.

And at least as far as -- well, it's very hard to find this foundation. You go to their website. They have a website but there's no phone numbers, there's no address. They appear to have not given out any grants.

They haven't set up office, that at least one can find. And considering it was launched with some fanfare at the time, I'm just curious if you could bring us up to speed a little bit as to what this foundation consists of and where you -- where it seems to be going. I don't even -- it's hard to see how much money it is that the U.S. has put into this, for one.

MR. CASEY: Neil, I actually haven't, unfortunately, briefed myself on the latest activities from the Foundation. Look, as you know, this was something that has emerged out of the Forum for the Future process.

It has an international board of directors representing -- with representatives from most of the participating regional countries there as well as an executive directorate. In terms of the amount of money involved at this point and some of the specific grant programs, I'll have to look into it for you. I just don't have that at my fingertips. Sorry.
...
QUESTION: So what does she do as the advisor? I mean, does she help advise on grants, or do you know what her job is?

MR. CASEY: I do not have a job description for her, no. Again, I think that's a question you could ask some of the board members.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-clemons/the-wolfowitzriza-scanda_b_45851.html

I hope the board doesn't buy the BS.