Higher standards of conduct.

"The law"; the lowest standards of conduct acceptable to civilized human beings, does not require politicians and public servants to be "trustworthy". As we cannot tolerate untrustworthy politicians and public servants who go unchecked by the law, we must hold them accountable to higher standards of conduct than the law. And they must be willing to hold themselves honestly accountable to those standards or, they cannot be trusted.

Whatever "higher standards of conduct" include,
they all rest upon a common foundation; trustworthiness.

There are no meaningfully higher standards of conduct that
do not begin with truth telling; responding to any legitimate
question about the public interests or about their public service,
candidly, forthrightly and honestly.

Any politician or public servant unwilling to take that pledge
is not trustworthy and should not be entrusted with control
over our power and resources.