Which Is an Ethics Violation Here?

Ethics. Please tell me the difference:

Boeing hired a retired major general of the Air National Guard as a lobbyist for a now-defunct $23-billion agreement to lease refueling tankers to the Air Force (“Ex-U.S. Official’s Boeing Job Is Probed,” July 20).

Our vice president left his CEO position at Halliburton. His former employer has enjoyed no-bid contracts worth billions since the start of the war in Iraq.

The major general is being investigated by the Pentagon for possible ethics violations. Halliburton was recently awarded a multibillion-dollar contract.

L.L. Claflin

El Segundo