Wolfowitz Blames Downfall On The Media

In his first interview since announcing his resignation, World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz blamed the media for his downfall and claimed he had been vindicated over ethics accusations.

“I’m pleased that finally the board did accept that I acted in good faith and acted ethically,” Wolfowitz told BBC News. He neglected to mention that the World Bank board’s statement that Wolfowitz acted ethically was simply a “face-saving deal,” and that the special panel formed to investigate Wolfowitz’s actions found that he “broke bank rules in arranging a hefty compensation package for his girlfriend,” causing a “crisis in the leadership” at the institution.

Wolfowitz says he resigned because “emotions here were so overheated that I don’t think I could have accomplished what I wanted to accomplish for the people I really care about.” He denied that “lingering personal antipathy against him had contributed to his decision to leave. ‘I think it tells us more about the media than about the bank and I’ll leave it at that.’”

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