The White House acknowledged today that World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz made mistakes in his handling of a promotion and pay raise for his companion but insisted it was no reason to fire him.
US Goverment supports Wolfowitz despite World Bank controversy. Image: AP Photo.
The US administration kept up its support for Mr Wolfowitz after a World Bank committee said that he had violated ethics rules, adding pressure on the former US defense secretary and architect of the Iraq war to step down.
"We've made clear that we support Paul Wolfowitz," White House spokesman Tony Snow told reporters.
"Furthermore, he has said - and we agree - that certainly a lot of mistakes were made in the personnel process. But it's not a firing offense," he added.
Mr Wolfowitz will make a last-ditch effort to hold on to his job when he appears before the bank's 24-nation board later today.
The United States continued its diplomatic maneuvering to pressure mainly European countries, who have clashed with Mr Wolfowitz repeatedly since his appointment in 2005, to give him a second chance.
From the start, Mr Wolfowitz was a controversial choice by President George W Bush to head the institution because of his neo-conservative background and high-profile role in planning the Iraq war.
Senior European board officials told Reuters newsagency the panel's findings showed Mr Wolfowitz was arrogant toward the bank's normal operating procedures in the promotion of his companion, Shaha Riza, a Middle East expert.
Mr Wolfowitz has called the panel's findings "unbalanced and flawed" and argued that the panel had omitted statements and documents that support his position.
The panel argued that Wolfowitz believed the blame lay with others and did not take responsibility for his own actions.
It said he did not accept the bank's policy on conflict of interest and tried to bypass rules that he believed did not apply to him.
"The ad hoc group concludes that in actuality, Mr Wolfowitz from the outset cast himself in opposition to the established rules of the institution," it found.
"He did not accept the bank's policy on conflict of interest, so he sought to negotiate for himself a resolution different from that which would have applied to the staff he was selected to head."
The board is unlikely to make a final decision before Wednesday as it weighs the panel's findings.
Another senior board official said member countries will make another effort to resolve their differences over Wolfowitz on Tuesday. The official said Wolfowitz still had a chance of rescuing his job, depending on whether he could present a clear