Top White House staff ordered to take ethics refresher course

[emad]

Paul Harris in New York
Sunday November 6, 2005
The Observer


Beset by a tide of scandal and with one senior aide facing criminal charges, President George W Bush has ordered all his White House senior staff to take a refresher course in ethics, writes Paul Harris.
The move, revealed yesterday, is likely to be lauded by Republicans and derided by Democrats. It comes after a grim few months for Bush that has seen his second term declared by many critics to be a lame duck less than a year after his inauguration.

Particular damage has been inflicted by the Plamegate scandal, which involved the leak of a CIA agent's identity by top official Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, who has resigned to fight a court case that could see him facing a lengthy jail term.

With Plamegate perhaps in mind, the internal memo announcing the courses said the briefings would place special emphasis on the rules governing the handling of classified information. The courses will be held this week, which might still be too late for several White House officials, including Bush's political guru, Karl Rove, who is still under investigation by the investigation into Plamegate.

The courses will be mandatory for anyone in the White House who holds any level of security clearance. The week after will see further general ethical conduct courses held for other members of staff. 'The President has made clear his expectation that each member of his Executive Office of the President staff adhere to the spirit as well as the letter of all rules governing ethical conduct for EOP staff,' the memo said. It added sternly: 'There will be no exceptions.'

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1635445,00.html

[emad]

1. Random drug and DNA testing plus mandatory polygraph might be

better way to do it...

[C_U_L8R]

2. I hope they get graded

or is it a pass/ fail type thing

[Vickers]

3. "for anyone in the White House who holds any level of security clearance"

Why do any of those traitors still HAVE clearances? :shrug:

[xultar]

4. I wonder if God told DimSon to have them redo the ethics couse?

I thought if you were a soldier for GAWD you could do anything you want and be 4given.

[emad]

5. If Bush is the ethics benchmark then ANYONE taking the course

is guaranteed not to fail.

[Richard D]

6. Yes, time for your ethics course . . .

. . . (nudge nudge wink wink)

[kenny blankenship]

7. Um, isn't that kind of like posthumously sentencing

Ken Caminiti to some drug counseling?

[don954]

8. are we SURE this wasnt from the Onion?

its too ironic..!

[lavenderdiva]

9. I think the funniest part of this whole exercise is that, as it was

revealed on Meet The Press this morning, with Tim Russert, Harriet Miers is the one teaching the class!!! :rofl:

[ashling]

10. putting lipstick on a pig

you can put lipstick on a pig, but you can't teach it manners

[yy4me]

11. Boss included??

He needs a major course which we all know he would fail.

[Jade Fox]

12. Um, won't that just make them look like idiots....

who have to be told that it is not nice to lie, cheat, and steal?

This seems typical of Bushco cluelessness: try to make yourself look
good by admitting you are in need of basic reforms!

[SONUVABUSH]

13. Rove will be there too

Elmer Fudd Rove will be in the class. Sounds like a fun class, some real charmers!

[July]

14. Typical superficial response to a problem.

They still don't get that P.R. is not going to fix things fucked up by incompetence, malice, and greed.