Confidential Information

It's Not the Dead Bodies, It's the Living Ones "He knows where the bodies are buried at Metro." According to a local mayor as quoted in an article yesterday in the Surrey North Delta Leader, this is an important qualification for someone going from Metro Vancouver (BC) treasurer to lobbyist for the…

A November audit by Tennessee's Comptroller applies the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to a state procurement situation, since there are no relevant state rules. The particular provision involves "unfair competitive advantage." This is a useful concept to keep in mind with respect to local pr…

According to an article in the Washington Post this week, the federal Office of Government Ethics has reminded agencies to tell their furloughed employees that "they remain employees of the Federal Government during furlough periods . . . It is particularly important for employees to understand tha…

A front-page article in today's New York Times looks on a conflict situation that is usually ignored:  the unpaid adviser who effectively sells her inside, often confidential information to her clients. She is not technically a lobbyist, because her communications with officials are not intended to…

Recusal is a touchy subject for government officials, for two principal reasons. One, withdrawing from a matter can appear to constitute an admission of misconduct. This is because so many people, and even ethics codes, consider it wrong to have a conflict. Actually, recusing oneself is a way of de…

According to an article in today's New York Times, the reason that charges were dropped against Sen. Ted Stevens is that federal prosecutors repeatedly failed to disclose information that may have helped the defense. Most of the prosecutors' misconduct was discovered and remedied, as far as possibl…

Update below (August 19, 2009) Here's a recipe for conflicts of interest. Create a new kind of county commission to hand out grant money. Require that commission members include representatives from public and private agencies that handle the very services the grants are intended for. Stir until fr…