A Pentagon inquiry in 2005 found that former deputy defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz did not misuse his office in recommending his girlfriend for a sole-source 2003 contract to advise on Iraq, a spokesman said today.
Wolfowitz, who is fighting to keep his job as president of the World Bank, acknowledged to the Pentagon inspector general that Shaha Riza, a World Bank employee, was 'personal friend', said Bryan Whitman.
'But the recommendation by itself, by the determination of the IG, was not a misuse of his office,' he said.
Wolfowitz is embroiled in controversy at the World Bank for arranging lucrative pay raises and promotions for Riza after taking over as the bank president.
It has emerged that while Wolfowitz was still at the Pentagon, Riza visited Baghdad as a consultant for US military contractor Science Applications International in 2003, just after the US-led invasion of Iraq.
