This may have been obvious to some people here, but it's new to me. Kate Van Buskirk has her own podcast and is trying to get traction in media and more listeners.
So, when she violated the Independent Commissioner's guidance and gave a statement and interviews, she was acting not only on her friend's behalf, but her own. Acting against the interest of your employer and on behalf of yourself and your friends is "conflict of interest" defined.
"A conflict of interest is a situation in which an individual has competing interests or loyalties because of their duties to more than one person or organization. A person with a conflict of interest can't do justice to the actual or potentially conflicting interests of both parties."
It would be great to hear from the Independent Commissioner, or Athletics Canada's head, as to whether they view the actions of KVB as acceptable. People do get fired for unprofessional conduct and violating terms of employment (see DST, Steve Boyd, etc etc).
It's OK to look after your friends, and it's OK to look after yourself. It is not OK to work against the interests of sport's governing body and the Canadian taxpayers when you do it.