Hundreds of pages in the Federal Register are dedicated to government ethics rules that cover everything from the disposition of gifts worth less than $20 to the government’s revolving door. Like Talmudic scholars commenting on the original Five Books of Moses, the Office of Government Ethics and agency ethics counsel have written thousands of pages interpreting these rules.
The regulations do not, however, directly address a crucial principle for honest and effective government: telling the truth. And they shouldn’t have to. The ethics of telling the truth should be obvious.
