Wolfowitz Resigns

And another one bites the dust:

From CNN: WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Embattled World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz will leave office June 30 amid a controversy over his handling of a pay package for his girlfriend, a bank employee, the institution's board of directors announced Thursday.

President Bush on Thursday sounded as if he was resigned to the fact that Wolfowitz's tenure was coming to an end.

Senior World Bank officials told CNN earlier Thursday that they expected Wolfowitz to announce his resignation "soon."

On Wednesday bank directors held talks with Wolfowitz and White House officials amid reports they were close to reaching an agreement.

The agreement they were discussing would allow Wolfowitz to leave voluntarily in return for the bank's admission of some culpability in the handling of his girlfriend Shaha Riza's transfer to a State Department job and hefty pay raise, senior administration officials told CNN.

Wolfowitz had served as undersecretary for defense and had helped plan the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Bush had nominated him to serve as the World Bank's president.

"I admire Paul Wolfowitz, I admire his heart and I particularly admired his focus on helping the poor," Bush told reporters. "There's a board meeting going on as we speak. All I can tell you is I know that Paul Wolfowitz has an interest in what's best for the bank."

Bush applauded Wolfowitz for having made sure the bank "focused on things that matter -- human suffering, the human condition." He added, "I respect him a lot and, as I say, I regret that it's come to this right now."

The White House has concluded that he cannot serve anymore, administration sources familiar with the discussions told CNN on Wednesday.

"We want it over, one way or the other," said a senior administration official, who added that the White House was merely reacting to the "reality" of Wolfowitz's shriveling support on the bank board. "If you can't win, you can't win."The ongoing talks center on the wording of a statement, which the board needs to come up with in the next few days or risk losing credibility with the staff, a senior bank official told CNN.

"The staff is very agitated over this," the senior bank official said. "The board knows it risks becoming the target of the staff's wrath in this."

Wolfowitz attorney Bob Bennett had left the door open for departure if Wolfowitz isn't found the be the only one responsible.

"He will not resign under this cloud and that remains his position," Bennett said. "We have presented an overpowering case to the full board. If we win that case to the full board, then things may work out."

One holdup in the talks was U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, who continued to support Wolfowitz.

The board rejected an earlier U.S. plan under which the U.S. would discuss Wolfowitz's resignation only if the board of ethics violations exonerated him, a member of the bank board told CNN.

The board had enough votes to fire Wolfowitz but was trying to avoid a full vote, which would leave the United States isolated in its support for Wolfowitz, the official said.

"They want to give Wolfowitz and the U.S. a way out," the source said. "They are telling [U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry] Paulson if needed, they will vote him out, but they don't want to break up the board. They want the United States to be part of the consensus in finding a solution."

The United States has "already lost a great deal of prestige on the board," the official added. Wolfowitz's expected resignation would likely lead to an "open discussion about whether the U.S. should be able to pick his successor."

Should the Ethics Committee admit some culpability, staff firings are not expected, because most of the committee members who dealt with Wolfowitz on the matter have since left the bank, the official said.

Wolfowitz was supposed to travel to Slovenia Wednesday night on World Bank business but a World Bank official told CNN that the trip is on hold."

----End of CNN quote

Well, to quote Walter Cronkite,

"And that's the way it was."

Man, this is one bitchin' week!

-Matt