Wolfowitz

I'm too ignorant to fully understand all this, but it has to be serious if they are willing to kick him out.

Top Wolfowitz aide resigns from World Bank
Published: Monday May 7, 2007

A top aide to embattled World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz resigned Monday, saying the controversy surrounding the development lender made it difficult for him to be effective.

Kevin Kellems, the director of strategy and an adviser to Wolfowitz since June 2005, told AFP he had resigned to pursue other opportunities.

"Given the current environment surrounding the leadership of the World Bank Group, it is very difficult to be effective in helping to advance the mission of the institution," he said.

"Therefore I have decided to leave for other opportunities."

Wolfowitz has been under fire since early April for his role in arranging a pay hike and promotion for his companion and fellow World Bank employee, Shaha Riza, when she was seconded to the US State Department after he became bank president in June 2005.

Wolfowitz has told an investigatory panel he acted on the advice of the bank's ethics committee in trying to resolve a potential conflict of interest between himself and Riza.

But bank officials contend that he was never directed to personally order guaranteed promotions and a pay deal worth nearly 200,000 dollars for his Libyan-born companion.

The lingering controversy is threatening to hobble the World Bank's traditional lending and development activities, notably an anti-corruption campaign targeting beneficiaries of bank assistance.

Wolfowitz last week responded to criticism saying he had acted within World Bank rules in requesting pay hikes and promotions for Riza.

"It is grossly unfair and wrong to suggest that I intended to mislead anyone, and I urge the committee to reject the allegation that I lack credibility," Wolfowitz said in a letter to a World Bank investigatory panel.

"I vehemently deny that I went beyond what I understood to be the guidance I received" from bank officials, Wolfowitz said.

The spat between the World Bank president and key high-level staffers has pitched the institution into crisis amid an internal inquiry into Wolfowitz's actions.

The investigatory panel is due to report its findings to the bank's board soon although it is unclear what course of action the board may take despite mounting calls for Wolfowitz's resignation.

http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Top_Wolfowitz_aide_resigns_from_Wor_05072007.html

World Bank Panel Finds Wolfowitz at Fault; Aide Resigns


By STEVEN R. WEISMAN
Published: May 7, 2007
WASHINGTON, May 7 ?- A committee of World Bank directors has formally notified Paul D. Wolfowitz that they found him to be guilty of a conflict of interest in arranging for a pay raise and promotion for Shaha Ali Riza, his companion, in 2005. The findings stepped up the pressure on Mr. Wolfowitz to resign.

The contents of the panel's findings were not made public. People who are familiar with the panel's report said that it reviewed extensive documents and testimony before concluding that Mr. Wolfowitz breached his obligations in arranging for Ms. Riza's reassignment from the bank to the State Department.

The report, as transmitted to Mr. Wolfowitz, did not recommend a punishment for Mr. Wolfowitz. Bank officials, speaking anonymously because the proceedings are supposed to be confidential, said that the special committee was still working today on what to recommend.

It was not clear whether the committee, consisting of 7 of the bank's 24 board members, would remove Mr. Wolfowitz from his post or, more likely, express a loss of confidence in his leadership in a manner that might persuade him to resign. Bank officials say that a majority of the bank board has concluded that he should go.
link

Rumors are circulating that Wolfie is out too.

We'll see

Cycloptichorn

Deal Is Offered for Chief's Exit at World Bank
May 8, 2007
Deal Is Offered for Chief's Exit at World Bank
By STEVEN R. WEISMAN
New York Times

Leading governments of Europe, mounting a new campaign to push Paul D. Wolfowitz from his job as World Bank president, signaled Monday that they were willing to let the United States choose the bank's next chief, but only if Mr. Wolfowitz stepped down soon, European officials said.

European officials had previously indicated that they wanted to end the tradition of the United States picking the World Bank leader. But now the officials are hoping to enlist American help in persuading Mr. Wolfowitz to resign voluntarily, rather than be rebuked or ousted.

The goal, they said, is to avert a public rupture of the bank board over a vote, possibly later this week, to sanction Mr. Wolfowitz. Even if the vote is a reprimand, they said, it could effectively make it impossible for him to stay on.

The Europeans worked to arrange a quick exit for Mr. Wolfowitz as a special bank committee concluded that he was guilty of breaking rules barring conflicts of interest in arranging for a pay raise and promotion for Shaha Ali Riza, his companion and a bank employee, in 2005.

The decision was sent to Mr. Wolfowitz on Sunday night after a month of turmoil over the situation. The panel's findings were not made public, but people familiar with the report said that it reviewed documents and testimony before concluding that Mr. Wolfowitz had breached his obligations in arranging for Ms. Riza's reassignment from the bank to the State Department.

"What I'm hearing from colleagues is, ?'Let's not push the Americans too hard,' " said a senior European official involved in policy on the bank. "We want to avoid a split between the United States and its European allies. We're willing to say: ?'O.K., you find a capable American to run this institution and we can live with that.' "

In another sign of Mr. Wolfowitz's difficulties, his top communications aide, Kevin Kellems, resigned Monday, saying that "the current environment surrounding the leadership" at the bank made it "very difficult to be effective in helping to advance the mission of the institution."

Mr. Kellems said in a statement that he had "tremendous respect and admiration" for the bank's staff but made no mention of Mr. Wolfowitz, with whom he had a close association when the bank president was deputy secretary of defense.

European officials did not disclose details of how they were communicating with the Bush administration, but they said the suggestion that Mr. Wolfowitz resign in return for having an American successor was first raised with Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. in mid-April.

Well before Mr. Wolfowitz took office in 2005, leading European countries had begun agitating to discard the custom that had existed since the 1940s of the United States choosing the bank president. The United States has that prerogative because it contributes the largest share of the bank's financing.

Bush administration officials say that American leadership of the World Bank is essential to maintaining influence over its policies and priorities, including which bank programs and countries receive financing. The officials fear that if the bank is headed by someone lacking the confidence of Congress and Americans in general, it could lead to a breach similar to the one between the former United Nations secretary general, Kofi Annan, and critics on Capitol Hill.

European countries customarily choose the chief of the bank's sister institution, the International Monetary Fund, though a European-American conflict has arisen there as well. Its focus is a drive supported by the Bush administration to reduce the European voting share in favor of China and other fast-growing countries.

The United States has 16.4 percent of the voting share at the 24-member World Bank board that chooses the president. Europeans have twice that share if they stick together, which many bank officials say they have signaled they are willing to do to remove Mr. Wolfowitz.

The senior European official said Mr. Wolfowitz's credibility was now "beyond repair."

That view has echoed through the bank's ranks. Hundreds of bank employees assembled at an auditorium on Monday to hear Mark Malloch Brown, the former top aide to Mr. Annan at the United Nations, say that with Mr. Wolfowitz in charge, the bank's anti-poverty agenda was "hugely at risk" because Europeans were balking at the financing.

No bank president has ever resigned in a crisis atmosphere like the current situation, so there is no precedent for what would happen if he left.

The committee's finding of guilt against Mr. Wolfowitz was tempered by a finding that the bank shared at least some blame for the failure of Mr. Wolfowitz to comply with its rules. According to people familiar with the report, it said the advice from ethics officials at the bank to Mr. Wolfowitz was less than clear and evidently subject to misinterpretation. Nevertheless, the report was clear in its conclusion that Mr. Wolfowitz breached his obligations.

Mr. Wolfowitz's lawyer, Robert S. Bennett, said the bank was giving Mr. Wolfowitz too little time to rebut its conclusions before a board vote later this week.

"I don't feel it would be appropriate to share the report, but I am deeply troubled that they have only given us 48 hours to respond," he said in an interview. "This is not fair to Mr. Wolfowitz."

The report, as transmitted to Mr. Wolfowitz, did not recommend any punishment for him. Bank officials, speaking anonymously because the proceedings are supposed to be confidential, said that the special committee was still working Monday on what to recommend.

It was not clear whether the committee, consisting of 7 of the bank's 24 board members, would recommend removing him from office or, more likely, express a loss of confidence in his leadership in a manner intended to force his resignation. Bank officials say a majority of the bank board has determined that he should go.

The Bush administration has repeatedly backed Mr. Wolfowitz, but President Bush and Mr. Paulson have also called for the completion of the bank's internal review process. Now that that is done, the administration is likely to face renewed pressure.

European and American officials say that Mr. Paulson has said that the bank process must be respected before the United States is pushed into a position on Mr. Wolfowitz. Several European officials said they believed that Mr. Paulson was in favor of Mr. Wolfowitz leaving, but that Mr. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney were insisting on standing up for him.

Mr. Wolfowitz's selection in 2005 drew enormous criticism in Europe, but France and Germany wanted to repair the wounds left from their opposition to the Iraq war and went along with him.

That mood has changed, many European officials say. As expressed in editorials, political commentaries and even blogs, European sentiment is against Mr. Wolfowitz and in favor of more aid for poor countries.

Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany favors Mr. Wolfowitz's resignation, people familiar with her thinking say, but is also eager to avoid a confrontation with Mr. Bush. But as chief of the European Union, she is said to feel obliged to reflect European views, put forth in the European Parliament's call last month for Mr. Wolfowitz to resign.

Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain, due to step down as soon as this summer, has stood by Mr. Bush, but his presumed successor, Gordon Brown, the chancellor of the exchequer, has tangled with Mr. Wolfowitz on some bank policies.

European officials say that the Netherlands and the Nordic countries have been most critical of Mr. Wolfowitz.

Bank officials say that, as of now, only the United States, Japan and Canada would vote in favor of Mr. Wolfowitz. They represent less than 30 percent of the voting shares. Most directors are said to be willing to vote against Mr. Wolfowitz, but some countries, mainly in Africa, are said to be wavering.

I guess dignity just ain't Paul Wolfowitz's bag.
May 08, 2007 -- 09:57 PM EST
I guess dignity just ain't Paul Wolfowitz's bag.
by Josh Marshall
The Hill

Now comes word that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson -- yes, in case you were wondering, that's the Treasury Secretary of the United States, not the Treasurer or Treasury Secretary of the World Bank or anything -- has come out in favor of giving Paul Wolfowitz more time to defend himself against conflict of interest charges.

No less shocking than Paulson's entry into this increasingly pitiful spectacle is the fact that Paulson's spokesperson is named Brookly McLaughlin.

Given the depths of corruption and bad acts we've seen of late, giving a fat raise to a girlfriend or boyfriend who works at your shop isn't the worst kind of corruption there is. But it falls short, I guess you might say, of best practices. I knew this thing was heading toward some sort of increasingly bizarre and baroque anti-accountability fugue when Wolfowitz a few days ago tried to turn the tables on his accusers and claim that they were in fact that bad actors but he was willing to assume they were acting in good faith when they did wrong.

Wolfowitz now appears to be filled with contempt for the board of the institution, which was supposed to be his vehicle for a world-historical mulligan, since they are unwilling, as my friend Sidney Blumenthal recently put it, to overlook his corrupt dealings for the greater good of his crusade against corruption.

When you think about it, on a few different levels, Wolfowitz is sort of an Austin Powersian sort of figure. And as Austin might say, taking responsibility just ain't Paul's bag, baby.

Europeans Press Wolfowitz to Quit as Bank Chief
May 11, 2007
Europeans Press Wolfowitz to Quit as Bank Chief
By STEVEN R. WEISMAN
New York Times

European leaders have told the Bush administration that Paul D. Wolfowitz must resign as president of the World Bank in order to avoid a vote next week by the bank's board declaring that he no longer has its confidence to function as the bank's leader, European officials said Thursday.

The officials said the board was drafting a resolution reflecting its view that the relationship between Mr. Wolfowitz and the governing body of the bank had "broken beyond repair." They noted that, if he remained in office, some European countries were planning to reduce contributions to the World Bank that would aid poor countries and instead would channel the money to European agencies and other groups for distribution.

"The administration has been told that its battle to save Wolfowitz cannot be won," said a European official, who like others who discussed the matter spoke on the condition of anonymity because the matter is confidential. "His relationship with the board is not only damaged. It is broken."

Bank officials say that the growing determination to oust Mr. Wolfowitz has led to a polling of the 24 members of the bank board and that a majority favor his ouster.

It was not clear why the board was not preparing simply to vote to oust Mr. Wolfowitz from his job. The bank's governing articles say that a president ceases to hold his job if the board so decides.

Instead, the board appeared to be searching for language to attract a majority vote and also to represent the strongest possible rebuke that would serve as the functional equivalent of an ouster by making his situation untenable and all but halting his ability to travel, meet with foreign leaders, negotiate on policy or make personnel decisions.

Disclosure of the board's plans came as Mr. Wolfowitz was preparing to make a last-ditch appeal to save his job, on the ground that the charges of misconduct and favoritism against him have been unfair and based on distortions.

Responding to the latest threat of a vote, Mr. Wolfowitz's lawyer, Robert S. Bennett, said: "If this is true, it's disappointing and outrageous. What is the point of giving us time to make a submission if they have already made up their minds?"

Mr. Bennett said that Mr. Wolfowitz would be submitting "a powerful presentation that shows without doubt that there is no bad faith on his part, no conflict of interest on his part" and that a premature judgment raised doubts about the bank's credibility.

Bank officials say that Mr. Wolfowitz has already been given an opportunity to make his case in testimony before the bank's special committee investigating him and that the committee and board members have reviewed hundreds of pages of testimony and documents.

Bank officials familiar with the process of drafting the resolution to be adopted next week said the language was being revised in order to secure support that would be as broad as possible. At present, these officials said, support for the no-confidence resolution has come from Europe, most of Asia and Latin America.

Mr. Bennett has said that Mr. Wolfowitz would file a written statement by the end of this week countering the committee's conclusion that he violated conflict-of-interest rules and would appear before bank officials to defend himself next week. He has been invited to do so on Tuesday.

But with an acceleration of discussions about Mr. Wolfowitz throughout the bank and between finance and development ministries and their counterparts in Washington, it appeared that time was running out for him. The vote declaring him no longer able to function as president could come Wednesday, European and bank officials said.

There had been talk in recent weeks of an arrangement in which Mr. Wolfowitz would be offered the option of resigning in return for some kind of resolution saying he acted in good faith in the handling of a pay and promotion package for Shaha Ali Riza, his companion. But on Thursday it appeared too late for such language to be included in any resolution to be adopted next week.

European officials have encouraged the United States to go along with Mr. Wolfowitz's ouster in return for a promise that President Bush could continue the tradition of the United States picking the next president. But that possibility has not been seized by the administration in its talks with the bank.

There was no immediate response from the Bush administration on the possibility of a no-confidence vote, but officials said the dire situation for Mr. Wolfowitz had been discussed recently with Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Michele Davis, Mr. Paulson's spokeswoman, said Thursday that Mr. Paulson's talks had been confined to ensuring a fair process for Mr. Wolfowitz. Ms. Rice's spokesman said she was not involved in any talks about whether Mr. Wolfowitz should resign.

The bank board committee found last week that Mr. Wolfowitz violated bank rules and the terms of his contract barring conflicts of interest when he ordered a pay and promotion package for Ms. Riza upon becoming president in 2005.