Ethics-in-Government Stories Figure in World Headlines
Mar 10th, 2008 • Posted in: NewsPresident Bush vetoes bill that would have outlawed waterboarding, leading critics to say U.S. will lose “moral authority”; a proposed congressional ethics office dies again; “monster” remark by Obama adviser spotlights an ethics dilemma for reporters; South Korea’s new president already is embroiled in ethics problem
VARIOUS DATELINES
Ethics issues were prominent in a variety of stories last week. Among them:
- President Bush announced Saturday morning that he vetoed a bill that would ban the CIA’s use of harsh interrogation techniques such as waterboarding, reports the Hill, a publication covering Congress. In his weekly radio address, Bush said the measure would deprive the intelligence community of valuable information. House speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) criticized Bush’s decision, saying the nation’s ability to lead the world depends not only on “our military might, but our moral authority.”
- The resolution to create an independent Office of Congressional Ethics was pulled from the floor for the second time last week for more fine-tuning after Democratic leaders found they didn’t have enough votes to push it through, CBS News reports. The vote leakage comes because Republicans are pushing a competing plan that would add former members of the House to the committee and would allow outside groups to bring complaints against lawmakers and staff, according to Congressional Quarterly.
- Controversy over the increasingly nasty U.S. presidential primary campaign enlarged to include scrutiny of press ethics last week as Barack Obama adviser Samantha Power was dropped from the campaign after her comments referring to Hillary Clinton as a “monster” who is not above “stooping to anything” to win were printed by the Scotsman newspaper. The problem was that when she spoke to the Scotsman reporter, the remark was supposed to be off the record. In a discussion board hosted by the Poynter Institute, a media think-tank, many journalists weighed in on whether the sudden insertion of an “off the record” caveat really keeps remarks from being fair game. While some contend that “off the record” status should be honored, others argue that something should only be regarded as unreportable if both the source and the journalist agree to that stipulation in advance.
- A corruption scandal at Samsung is rocking the new government of South Korea. Lee Myung-bak, who was sworn in as president last month, is already on the defense over allegations that his intelligence chief and top anticorruption aide received bribes from Samsung, the New York Times reports. Lee and the company have denied those accusations. According to the Times, Lee, “a business chief executive turned politician, was elected on a platform of reviving the slowing economy, but he has been dogged by allegations about his and some of his aides’ ethical standards. Three of Mr. Lee’s cabinet appointees have already been forced to resign amid suspicions of corruption.”
Sources: Scotsman, Mar. 8 — CBS News, Mar. 7 — Congressional Quarterly, Mar. 6 — New York Times, Mar. 6.
For more information, see: Related Newsline Commentary, Feb. 25 — Related Newsline story, Feb. 18 — Related Newsline story, Feb. 11 — Related Newsline story, Jan. 22 — Related Newsline story, Dec. 3, 2007 — Poynter Institute forum.
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