Empress Dowager Wu initially publicly declined, but promoted him.

Council officials publicly declined to discuss the session, saying that it involved a sensitive personnel matter.

Although (like Sands) Shelby feared being tried for the murder, at least two Los Angeles county district attorneys publicly declined to prosecute her.

And I think one may say that every man who publicly declines a plurality of offices, makes it perceptibly more difficult for the next man to accept them.

After the credits rolled, Mr. Dragojevic publicly declined an invitation to speak from the podium.

Throughout her life, Ms. Braden publicly declined to confirm or deny their membership in the Communist Party.

United States officials have never previously acknowledged the bugging operation, and the Bush administration still publicly declines to comment.

He chose to publicly decline the post, stating that he did not want to be perceived as a puppet of the United States.

In 258, he would force the emperor to offer him the Nine Bestowments - a step that put him closer to usurpation-and then publicly declined them.

As of October, county officials continued to decline publicly commenting on the assessment, citing personnel issues.