In public service there is often an effort to avoid even the appearance of impropriety
Judicial, legislative, and executive branches all (usually) try to appear unbiased, moral, and ethical. Even to the point of not doing things that are perfectly on the-up-and-up but might appear otherwise in the news.
And it is not just a case of butt-covering. They are protecting the image of the institution. When loonies can convince less-than-loonies that Bush-Cheney-Haliburton are trying to carve out an empire in the mid-east then America suffers. Americans respect the presidency less. Internationals respect America less.
The point of this ramble is this: this administration does not seem to care a whit about the appearance of impropriety, except for damage-control after the fact. It's another point against, on my tally sheet.