Kofi Annan to Sell Out Son, Use "Jimmy Carter" Defense

The Australian reports that Kofi Annan is expected to blame his son Kojo for getting involved in the oil-for-food scandal in the Volcker report to be issued on Tuesday. The report is also expected to confirm that Kofi met with senior representatives of Cotecna on several occasions and that he should have known of the potential conflict of interest concerning his son.

UN officials are hoping to deflect criticism of the UN chief by insisting that his son, Kojo, 29, misled him about payments that Kojo Annan received from a UN contractor....Cotecna acknowledges now that it paid Kojo Annan about $US365,000 over eight years -- twice what it previously admitted.

Mark Malloch Brown, the UN Secretary-General's chief of staff, said last week that Mr Annan expected to be exonerated by the commission, but added that his son's situation might be "very different."

An interesting part of the story is how Annan plans to defend himself:

Aides say Mr Annan plans to mount a "Billy Carter defence," arguing that he should not be held accountable for any transgressions by his son, just as Jimmy Carter, the former US president, was not forced from office when it emerged that his brother, Billy, was lobbying for Libya.

Maybe that's why the two men get along so well.