The Marion Barry Defense [UPDATED - history] It's now official. At least that's what Paul Wolfowitz's expensive lawyer-spokesman told Newsweek.

It was Riza herself who pressed Wolfowitz to impose the generous terms of her new posting, according to Bennett. “She said she worked up the numbers, not Mr. Wolfowitz.

She was outraged that she had to leave,” says Bennett. So that's why she projected a raise from GG (and not a great one at that) to GJ as the "career she'd given up." Sort of like going from private first class to two-star general in a decade. What comparators did she use?

Or course, the latest spewing of lawyerly hot air does not excuse Paul Wolfowitz's interference, or the cover-up, or the forged 'draft email' from Robin Cleveland, or the attempt to confuse sexual relationships with marriage or other registered partnerships at the Bank.

And they all wonder why the Board is not persuaded by this bluster and blather?

UPDATE: For those not conversant in Washington DC political history, the “Marion Barry defense” refers to the incident in the early 1990s in which longtime Washington mayor Marion Barry was caught accepting cocaine from a prostitute. His famous summation was “The bitch set me up.” But the comparison is not an entirely auspicious one for those who hope never to see Wolfowitz again: after descending from his throne and spending some time in rehab, Barry made a comeback and was easily elected to one more term as mayor.

Deep Insider ~ May 04, 2007

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