Gagging Shaha Riza

Since the misnamed 8220;Wolfowitz scandal8221; broke last month, enemies of the World Bank president have engaged in selective press leaks...

Since the misnamed 8220;Wolfowitz scandal8221; broke last month, enemies of the World Bank president have engaged in selective press leaks and calculated smears intended to oust him. Most of these leaks have come from within the bank itself, not that we8217;ve seen any effort by the institution to stop them.

Meanwhile, the bank bureaucracy has systematically sought to prevent Mr. Wolfowitz and his girlfriend Shaha Riza from telling their side of the story. Exhibit A is the bank8217;s refusal to allow Ms. Riza 8212; whose raise and promotion are the central issue8212;to defend herself even in a newspaper op-ed.

That was the order she received this week from one W. Paatii Ofosu-Amaah, a longtime bank bureaucrat from Ghana, who serves as its vice president and corporate secretary. Both Ms. Riza and her lawyer declined to comment and were not our sources, but others who8217;ve seen the letter tell us that Mr. Ofosu-Amaah cited the bank8217;s disclosure policies regarding board proceedings to forbid Ms. Riza from taking her case to the public.

That8217;s more than odd, given that Ms. Riza currently works at a State Department affiliate; her salary continues to be paid by the bank as part of an agreement to avoid a 8220;conflict of interest8221; claimed by the bank8217;s own ethics committee. Bank sources also tell us that Mr. Ofosu-Amaah was among those who opposed letting Mr. Wolfowitz and Ms. Riza testify on Monday to the 8220;ad hoc committee8221; investigating the case. One source adds that, 8220;like several other vice presidents, Paatii took the position that a verdict could be reached through the documentary evidence alone.8221;

Maybe that explains why this kangaroo court was prepared last week to reach a guilty verdict against Mr. Wolfowitz before either he or Ms. Riza had been given a chance to appear, according to 8220;three senior bank officials8221; cited on Saturday by the Washington Post. Mr. Ofosu-Amaah8217;s office didn8217;t return our calls, naturally.

Excerpted from a comment in the Wall Street Journal, May 4