Public Trust

Below is an excerpt from "On Faith," an Internet feature sponsored by The Washington Post and Newsweek. Each week, more than 50 figures from the world of faith engage in a conversation about an aspect of religion. This week's question: Another politician (John Edwards) has admitted to having an extramarital affair, and another spouse (Elizabeth Edwards) has been forgiving. At what point does a person of faith cease to forgive? At what point does forgiveness become destructive? The Bible promises us that God will forgive us...

WASHINGTON — Republicans said Sunday that the Internal Revenue Service's heightened scrutiny of conservative political groups was "chilling" and further eroded public trust in government. Lawmakers said President Barack Obama personally should apologize for targeting tea party organizations and they challenged the tax agency's blaming of low-level workers. "I just don't buy that this was a couple of rogue IRS employees," said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. "After all, groups with...

The agency that oversees the region's two largest airports and is building the multibillion-dollar Metro extension to Dulles has lost the public's trust and must immediately implement reforms, the nation's top transportation official, two governors and the D.C. mayor said Tuesday. The unusually strong rebuke of the ethics and judgment of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) came in a letter to the board from Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell, Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley and...

"THERE'S A REAL difference between not being criminally charged versus running a campaign properly. " That point, made by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. this month as he closed the criminal case against Kwame R. Brown's 2008 reelection campaign, is apparently lost on the former D.C. Council chairman. That's all the more reason we hope that D.C. election officials are serious about pursuing lingering issues that surround this campaign. Mr. Machen called upon the D.C. Board of Elections — which had requested the federal...

Colbert I. King ["In D.C., a Spat Among Spongers," op-ed , April 25] rightly condemned Mayor Adrian M. Fenty for accepting Washington Nationals tickets and suggested that all such handouts be refused. I agree. But I would go further. I not only condemn the practice but believe it should be made an impeachable offense, requiring removal of the official from a position of public trust. There are strict rules regarding gifts to government officials. Those rules should apply universally.

"THERE'S A REAL difference between not being criminally charged versus running a campaign properly. " That point, made by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. this month as he closed the criminal case against Kwame R. Brown's 2008 reelection campaign, is apparently lost on the former D.C. Council chairman. That's all the more reason we hope that D.C. election officials are serious about pursuing lingering issues that surround this campaign. Mr. Machen called upon the D.C. Board of Elections — which had requested the federal...

Journalists are not public officeholders, nor do they manage public funds. But they do hold, precariously, a public trust. And at the foundation of that trust is the pledge to tell the truth, or at least to get as close to it as they can. One way journalists keep that trust is to be transparent about their profession, about who they are, and, yes, about their flaws and biases. This is even more true today in the age of social media when online readers, Twitter followers and Facebook friends want to know...

David Strickland is the administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the agency dedicated to reducing automotive crash -related injuries and fatalities while ensuring safety on the nation's roadways. He previously served for eight years on the staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Strickland spoke with Tom Fox, who writes the Washington Post's Federal Coach blog and is the director of the Partnership for Public...

I applaud and agree with Aug. 4 letter writer Geoffrey E. Greene that it would be refreshing for a politician to admit error, accept responsibility and honorably resign. That should be the norm. However, Mr. Greene erred when he said that Alexandria Police Chief David P. Baker resigned last week after being charged with drunken driving. Chief Baker's letter announcing his departure clearly specified his intent to "retire" from the city Police Department, and he will receive full retirement benefits.

The Aug. 6 editorial " A watchdog for the airports authority " failed to note that the construction on Metrorail's Silver Line is progressing on time and close to budget estimates and that, until the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority assumed responsibility for the project, few thought it would ever be built. The editorial correctly noted that more government funding, which we are pursuing, would mitigate rate increases on the Dulles Toll Road to help pay for the rail line — and that public...

Of all the ugliness in Election 2012, nothing is more disturbing than attempts to prevent people from voting. Voter suppression strikes at the very heart of American democracy. The flood of money into this year's campaigns has been bad enough, as wealth has sought to do what wealth usually seeks to do: gain control and preference. The shouting of lies — not just shading the truth, but outright lies — has cheapened the liars and insulted the public. Demagogic attacks grounded in religion, phony patriotism and race have undermined public...

As the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority scrambles to remake its image following a series of ethical lapses, the nation's top transportation official is doing his part to make sure the authority puts its troubles behind it. In July, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood dispatched one of his top legal advisers, Kimberly L. Moore, to MWAA to serve as the agency's new accountability officer. Her job: to ensure that the authority charged with overseeing...

The agency that oversees the region's two largest airports and is building the multibillion-dollar Metro extension to Dulles has lost the public's trust and must immediately implement reforms, the nation's top transportation official, two governors and the D.C. mayor said Tuesday. The unusually strong rebuke of the ethics and judgment of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) came in a letter to the board from Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell, Maryland Gov. Martin...

The Aug. 6 editorial " A watchdog for the airports authority " failed to note that the construction on Metrorail's Silver Line is progressing on time and close to budget estimates and that, until the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority assumed responsibility for the project, few thought it would ever be built. The editorial correctly noted that more government funding, which we are pursuing, would mitigate rate increases on the Dulles Toll Road to help pay for...

David Strickland is the administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the agency dedicated to reducing automotive crash -related injuries and fatalities while ensuring safety on the nation's roadways. He previously served for eight years on the staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Strickland spoke with Tom Fox, who writes the Washington Post's Federal Coach blog and is the director of the Partnership for Public Service's Center for...

Who is the worse person — the mother who drywalls her three little girls into a bedroom for several hours, or the politician who steals $350,000 from children? Who is more deserving of severe punishment — the trusted archivist who steals hundreds of the nation's treasured historical objects and hawks them on eBay, or the developer who stuffs politicians' pockets with more than $400,000 in bribes intended to win support for building projects? In one 24-hour period in...

Former CIA official Mark M. Lowenthal seems to believe that the intelligence community hasn't properly engaged Congress or the American people ["The Real Intelligence Failure? Spineless Spies," Outlook, May 25]. But the community has long been aware of this criticism. In the mid-1990s, Robert M. Gates, who was director of central intelligence from 1991 to 1993, recognized that the "community has to be able to explain more effectively to the public, to the press, to Congress and others what it does for a living, what the realities are, and where there...

Abe Pollin was the bravest man I ever met. A man of courage and compassion, with high levels of personal empathy and integrity. He showed passion and commitment to our city when no one else would. He consistently showed his love to the fan base and to his extended family -- his employees. And you could take his handshake to the bank. He was a man of conviction and principles, of strong views and great accomplishment. He was the only world championship holder among the major team ownership groups around town today.

THE LETTERS urging U.S. District Judge John D. Bates to be lenient in sentencing former D.C. Council member Harry Thomas Jr. (D-Ward 5) are replete with examples of how he advocated for seniors, helped young athletes and secured resources for his ward. That the disgraced Mr. Thomas may have done some good deeds in his career gets no argument. But that doesn't earn him a pass for robbing the city of its money and the public of its trust. Indeed, as federal prosecutors argued in urging the maximum sentence under Mr. Thomas's plea...

Federal prosecutors asked a judge Friday to sentence former D.C. Council member Harry Thomas Jr. to nearly four years in prison, saying he repeatedly breached the public trust for his own self-interest. Thomas pleaded guilty in January to two felony counts connected to his theft of more than $350,000 in city funds intended for youth sports programs. In court filings Friday, prosecutors requested a 46-month sentence, while Thomas's attorneys made a lengthy case for a more lenient...