Ethics Newsline®

In other news about ethics and politics, a former associate of Randy “Duke” Cunningham is sentenced to federal prison, and a Canadian ethics committee wants former prime minister to make another appearance

VARIOUS DATELINES
Politics and ethics were the subjects of several major stories last week. Among them:

• An article linking presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain to a female lobbyist ignited a firestorm of criticism against the New York Times last week, with many complaining that the story was salacious and unsubstantiated. But others argued that if it were indeed true, the paper should have published the story sooner so that voters in the early primaries would have had a chance to take it into consideration. Newspaper trade journal Editor & Publisher reports that in the wake of the story, a whopping 2,400 comments were posted on the Times’s website, the vast majority being negative and many protesting the paper’s use of anonymous sources. Though the Times was also drubbed by its own public editor, the paper defended itself, writing that many of those quoted in the story were afraid of retribution and saying the larger theme of the article — McCain’s cozy relationship with lobbyists — warranted its publication.
• Brent Wilkes, a California defense contractor, last week was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for bribing former Republican congressman Randy “Duke” Cunningham. The San Diego Union Tribune reports that Wilkes was convicted of 13 felony counts revolving around $90 million in Pentagon contracts funneled to him from Cunningham, who is serving an eight-year term for accepting bribes from Wilkes and others.
• The chairman of Canada’s Commons Ethics Committee says he may subpoena Brian Mulroney, the former prime minster, to detail his dealings with a German-Canadian arms dealer. The Ottawa Sun reports that the inquiry, which focuses on allegations that funds from the arms dealer were sent to Mulroney while he was still in office, has been condemned by Mulroney as a political vendetta. Mulroney’s lawyers have complained that the committee treated him harshly in his previous appearance.

Sources: Editor & Publisher, Feb. 22 — San Diego Union Tribune, Feb. 22 — Ottawa Sun, Feb. 22 — New York Times‘ responses to readers’ questions about the McCain article, Feb. 21.

For more information, see: Related Newsline story, Feb. 18 — Related Newsline Commentary, Jan. 22 — Related Newsline story, Oct. 29, 2007 — Related Newsline story, Oct. 15, 2007 — Related Newsline story, May 22, 2006.