Nation IN BRIEF : WASHINGTON, D.C. : Dealings of Bush’s Friend Questioned

Fred M. Zeder II, a close friend of President Bush and the head of a government agency, secretly set up a private company to do business in the Pacific islands in 1986 while serving as U.S. ambassador to the region, according to records and interviews. Zeder did not notify the State Department that he had created the company and did not disqualify himself from making decisions as ambassador that could have affected his business. In an interview with Associated Press, Zeder said there was no legal requirement to notify the State Department about his firm, Island Development Foundation, or recuse himself from any government decisions.