Doctors, engineers, lawyers, and many other occupations have formal ethics codes that help members of the professions make difficult choices. What about the U.S. intelligence community? There is a formal statement: "Principles of Ethical Conduct," found in Part 1 of Executive Order 12731 of October 17,1990. These 14 sentences bind all U.S. federal employees, but these sentences deal primarily with what is usually defined as fiscal matters-proper handling of government funds, nepotism, accepting lavish gifts, and other such ill-advised activities. These sentences can be found posted in the hallways of almost all U.S. federal buildings, including those of the U.S. intelligence community (IC).
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