re: #509 Obdicut

Mmm. Stephenson being a bit defensive. If he did absolutely nothing wrong, as he’s saying, if the case shouldn’t have been a priority, if he only learned about it recently, if there wasn’t any serious error in judgement in hiring the ex NOW journalist, why did he feel it was necessary to resign?

Playing the martyr a little strong.

Theater, IMO.

He’s been asked about why he didn’t inform the PM about certain individuals in the case (which is like asking why the FBI and AG don’t discuss details of cases with the president).

The matter of accepting gifts in the UK is different than here. Gifts can be accepted as long as they are reported. (value limits are higher)

As for resignations, that is very different in the UK than here. In errors in judgement or appearances of bad judgement, people will resign.

That is a big difference from here. Few, if any, resigned after 9/11 intelligence debacle.