Do we need a Department of Ethics in the government? I know, thats silly -- how would you keep it from being suborned, how much authority would it have, and what about the magic of Executive Privilege? But still -- do we?
And how come the Department of Justice works for the President, anyway?
4 comments:
We have one in Canada. It comes under the Auditor General's department.
We don't hear from it much...when we do, it is because some guy gets caught with his hand in the cookie jar, and loudly proclaims that his actions were okayed by the Common's Ethics Committee. It probably wasn't, but hey....at least it provides a place for the press to go.
I don't think it works very well.
They literally say that? "Yeah, I did it, but the Ethics Department said it was okay." Or is it the classic US statement '"When all of the facts are known, I will be cleared."
They tend to say "we followed the guidelines as laid down."
Hmmm....so its possible they would say 'There were no clear prohibitions indicating that I could not burn down my opponents house, and therefore in so doing I was following....' ?
Okay.
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