Different Rules For Government Officials?

I don’t know what is happening with the sense of self of our high officials. In school, students are taught that copying the work of others is a big NO. Kids are penalized for copying the test answers of their classmates and in high school and even college; heavy penalties (expulsion even) are meted to those who copy without attribution, the work of others.

In the world of grownups, one of the country’s top businessmen had to resign his post in the board of a prestigious school after it was found out that his assistant plagiarized the work of another person. Overseas, heavy sanctions were imposed upon people who committed the same offenses.

But in our government,

• A Supreme Court justice was found to have committed plagiarism but instead of being contrite, the group of lawyers who denounced him was made to explain why they should not be penalized by the high court. 
• A senator was found to have plagiarized a blogger from overseas and instead of making a quick apology; he belittled the blogger and denied having committed the offense. And when it had become difficult to deny the plagiarism, he stressed that he will not apologize because it was hi staff who did it. 

Do the rules change for people in government? Do unacceptable behaviors become acceptable?