No! Really?
The Hill reports that Obama will “waive” his lobbyist rules for his deputy Defense Sec. pick:
The Obama administration has waived its ethics rules to allow William Lynn to serve as the deputy secretary of Defense.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) said he supports Lynn’s nomination and looks “forward to prompt consideration by the Senate.”
However, Levin cautioned that his panel will insist and ensure that Lynn, a Raytheon executive and former lobbyist, will comply with a strict set of ethics rules. He said this would include a requirement to recuse himself for a year from any decisions involving Raytheon, a large defense contractor.
He can participate in decisions regarding Raytheon only if “specifically authorized to participate by an appropriate ethics official,” Levin said in a statement on Friday.
“The decision of the Administration to impose an additional set of requirements, and then waive them for this nominee, does not change the standards to which we hold all nominees,” Levin said.
LOL! Uh huh.