WASHINGTON - Paul Wolfowitz encountered stiffening opposition Saturday to
staying on as World Bank president amid allegations he showed favoritism in
arranging a promotion and pay package for his girlfriend.
World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz appears at a news
conference in Washington in this April 15, 2007, file photo.
[AP]
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European countries led by Germany
and France want Wolfowitz to step down, while support for the embattled
president has eroded in Nordic nations and elsewhere, according to bank
officials and others close to the situation.
A special bank panel is investigating whether Wolfowitz violated bank rules
in his handling of the 2005 promotion of bank employee Shaha Riza to a
high-paying State Department job.
The World Bank's 24-member board will decide what action, if any, to take; a
decision is expected this week. The board could ask him to resign, signal it
does not have confidence in his leadership, reprimand him or take no action.
Critics, including World Bank staff, former bank officials, the European
Parliament, aid groups and some Democrats say the controversy has damaged the
development institution's reputation and may hobble its ability to fight global
poverty. They are pressing Wolfowitz to step down on his own.
Wolfowitz has said he made a mistake, and he has apologized. He plans to make
his case before the special panel on Monday.
His attorney, Robert Bennett, said Saturday that Wolfowitz "has no intention
of resigning under this cloud." Bennett said that when Wolfowitz personally
addresses the special panel on Monday, "We are going to be presenting powerful
evidence that Mr. Wolfowitz acted in good faith."
The panel, which is make recommendations to the board, is said to be
finalizing its work.
"We have full confidence in Paul Wolfowitz and expect that he will be able to
work with the World Bank to resolve these issues," White House spokesman Tony
Fratto said Saturday.
The Washington Post, citing unnamed sources, reported Saturday that the panel
concluded that Wolfowitz breached ethics rules by arranging the compensation
package for Riza. The panel was considering whether to explicitly recommend that
Wolfowitz resign, according to the report.
World Bank spokespeople and other bank officials could neither confirm nor
deny the report.
Bennett said he had not seen any findings from the special panel, and
expressed outrage at the World Bank's handling of the case.
"The whole process is a sham," Bennett said. "They have differences with him
on policies and management style. Instead of dealing with those, they are
creating this phony conflict-of-interest crisis."
The United States, the bank's largest shareholder, continues to stand by
Wolfowitz. By tradition, the World Bank has been led by an American. President
Bush tapped Wolfowitz and the bank's board approved the selection despite
complaints from Europeans about Wolfowitz's role in the Iraq war.
Before joining the bank in June 2005, Wolfowitz was the No. 2 official at the
Pentagon and played a main role in mapping out the U.S.-led war in Iraq.
The matter at hand that has Wolfowitz fighting to keep his World Bank job
involves whether he violated bank rules in his handling of the 2005 promotion
and pay package for Riza.
She already worked at the bank when Wolfowitz took the job. She was assigned
duties outside the bank to avoid a conflict of interest, although she remained
on the bank's payroll. Riza had earned close to $133,000 as a communications
adviser in the bank's Middle East department. After the assignment change, she
was getting paid $193,590.
The terms and conditions of the package, however, had not been "commented on,
reviewed or approved" by the World Bank's ethics committee, its chairman or the
bank's board, according to the bank's executive directors.
Riza also is expected to appear before the special bank panel on Monday. A
message left with her lawyer was not immediately returned.