Obama Iraq Ambassador Pick Withdraws After Scandal

Brett McGurk, President Obama’s nominee to be ambassador to Iraq, withdrew today after a sex scandal.

YahooNews (“Obama pick for Iraq ambassador withdraws after racy emails“):

President Barack Obama’s choice to be ambassador to Iraq has withdrawn from consideration for the post after a series of emails came to light detailing what critics called an improper relationship with a journalist during a previous tour in Baghdad.

What is it with these Democrat officials and their inability to control their sexual urges and uphold the dignity of their high office, anyway.

Brett McGurk, who advised President George W. Bush on Iraq and helped negotiate the accord that paved the way for American troops to leave the war-torn country, pulled out just one day after senior Obama adviser David Plouffe pledged the White House’s full support.

Oh. Well, never mind then.

McGurk and Wall Street Journal reporter Gina Chon carried on an extramarital affair while both were in Baghdad, according to media reports citing emails posted on the website www.cryptome.org. The two are now married. Chon resigned from the Wall Street Journal last week. The newspaper said she broke internal rules by showing McGurk “certain unpublished articles.”

I see.

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James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.

Comments

  1. al-Ameda says:

    it’s becoming apparent, that for the last 20 years or so, in most professions, that no one got the memo on ethics and conflicts of interest.

  2. Steve Z says:

    “unpublished articles” – is that what we are calling them now? 😉

  3. Moosebreath says:

    “What is it with these Democrat officials and their inability to control their sexual urges and uphold the dignity of their high office, anyway.”

    Like David Vitter, Larry Craig, John Ensign…