Wolfowitz Blames Ethics Panel and Riza for His Woes

Paul Wolfowitz fought back aggressively in a written response to the charges that he mishandled a raise and promotion for his girlfriend, the Washington Post reports. The embattled World Bank president claims the ethics committee forced him to handle the transfer himself because Shaha Riza was "extremely angry and upset," and so "intractable" that members feared a lawsuit.

"Its members did not want to deal with a very angry Ms. Riza, whose career was being damaged as a result of their decision," Wolfowitz wrote to the panel investigating the matter. He said the committee chairman thought his relationship with Riza would help achieve a "pragmatic solution," and says he offered the unusually large raise to pre-empt a lawsuit. (More Paul Wolfowitz stories.)