1 May 2007
Embattled World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz defended himself against allegations that he secured an improper salary raise for his girlfriend at a meeting with the Board committee investigating the situation on Monday morning.
Wolfowitz presented a prepared statement, in which he claimed that the Board's ethics committee had access to all of the details of the arrangement providing a promotion and salary raise in for Shaha Ali Riza. The extent to which the committee knew or approved of the arrangement is central to the current debate.
Wolfowitz also stated "I acted transparently, sought and received guidance from the bank's ethics committee and conducted myself in good faith in accordance with that guidance," the Associated Press reports.
Wolfowitz was accompanied by his lawyer Robert S. Bennett, who has staunchly demanded that Wolfowitz be given a chance to defend himself prior to any decisions being made. On rumors that the committee had reached a decision prior to meeting with the president on Monday, Bennett remarked: "If this is true, this is really unconscionable, and it just reflects that he's not having his day in court," Bennett told the Washington Post. "Is this invitation to him a sham?"
Read Wolfowitz's written and oral statements on worldbankpresident.org. The blog also links to responses to Wolfowitz's statement from Ad Melkert, former chairman of the World Bank's Ethics committee, former Vice President and General Counsel of the World Bank Roberto Dañino and the Government Accountability Project.
Shaha Ali Riza also appeared before the committee. In a prepared statement, Riza commented on her history at the institution, and noted that she was not given the choice to stay when then-boyfriend Paul Wolfowitz assumed the reins of the institution in 2005. "The cumulative effect of the decision made in 2005 and the recent media circus over the issue have done significant harm to my career, my personal well-being, and my prospects to continue the work I love and where my expertise resides," she noted. Read the entire statement on the Wall Street Journal website.
Wolfowitz's advisor Robin Cleveland was also expected to appear before the board committee.
The Board of Directors met Monday afternoon to discuss the committee's report on the matter. The report allegedly concludes that Wolfowitz did break ethics rules when arranging a pay raise for Riza, the Washington Post reported this weekend. Violations include breach of contract, breach of ethics rules and undermining the reputation of the bank.
What power does this panel actually have? "The seven-member panel looking into Wolfowitz could recommend firing or censuring him, according to a person familiar with the process who asked not to be identified. A third option would be to present findings to the full 24-member board without suggesting a course of action," William McQuillen and Christopher Swann wrote on Bloomberg.com on Tuesday.
"If Wolfowitz refuses to relinquish his post, the committee could take further action against him. While this report deals only with his handling of the pay raise for Riza, [a] source said, the committee is prepared to investigate a range of other alleged breaches of ethics and internal governance rules, including contracts for his senior staff," the Washington Post adds.
Wolfowitz has signaled that he may be willing to step down once he is cleared of current charges. "Only when the cloud of these unfair and untrue charges is removed, will it truly be possible to determine objectively whether I can be an effective leader of the World Bank," he said in his prepared statement on Monday. In his Washington Note blog, Steve Clemmons adds that Wolfowitz may be hanging on until he has a $400,000 performance and time-on-the-job bonus he is scheduled to receive on June 1 in hand.
President Bush reaffirmed his support for Wolfowitz on Monday, saying that he "ought to stay" and "ought to be given a fair hearing".