It’s been said that the best defense is a good offense. But the State
Land Office response to conflict-of-interest questions directed at its
deputy commissioner – that they are political, even sexist – are,
quite frankly, offensive.
But when you can’t argue facts, maybe name calling is your best bet.
Journal
investigative reporter Thomas J. Cole found that while the State Land
Office’s code of conduct explicitly prohibits employees from acting as
an agent for the lease of state trust lands, Deputy State Land
Commissioner Laura Riley:
1. Wrote a check from her firm, Riley
& Knight Appraisal and Consulting Services, to cover the
administrative fees for two entities that applied to the State Land
Office to have their nearly 9,000 acres in grazing leases transferred to
a billionaire’s ranch in western New Mexico, and
2. Signed and approved the lease transfers on behalf of State Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn.
So
how is it “politically motivated … and possibly even sexist” to raise
questions about Riley not only paying the fee for the lease transfers
but approving them? Especially considering the code of conduct also says
“under no circumstances shall employees give rise to a conflict of
interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest with the SLO”?
No comments:
Post a Comment