• @PugJesus
      link
      English
      461 month ago

      Restrictions on bribery are like gun control.

      They will never wholly get rid of the issue, because they don’t address the core cause - but they reduce the tools available to the perpetrators, which has a positive effect of reducing the symptoms.

      Lifting this restriction is minor, but also unambiguously bad, both morally and practically.

  • Flying Squid
    link
    491 month ago

    There is a big difference between making something legal and not giving a shit about whether or not it is legal.

    This is the latter.

    You can’t legalize bribery via executive order, but you sure as hell can suggest you won’t be doing anything about it that way.

    The media (and way too many people here on Lemmy) need to get it into their heads that U.S. law is irrelevant to the Trump administration.

    • @ClanOfTheOcho
      link
      91 month ago

      I thought the SC legalized it last year. Then again, so much crazy has come out of them these past years, it’s hard to keep track.

      • @grue
        link
        English
        191 month ago

        Congress legalized it in 2017 when they failed to impeach Trump on Inauguration Day for violating the Emoluments Clause.

      • deejay4am
        link
        English
        61 month ago

        Yeah just least year when they ruled on Citizens United. Oh…that was 15 years ago. Fuck, we’re so cooked

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          61 month ago

          They went further last year in Snyder vs United States.

          You can now give gifts and money to elected officials as long as you don’t explicitly mention what you want them to do for you. The law was already well undermined with Citizen United, but now the only thing that is essentially still illegal is the proverbial suitcase with money being handed over in exchange for services, and I’m sure that’ll go at some stage as well.

  • @Coreidan
    link
    English
    201 month ago

    It was never illegal. Its called lobbying and it’s what billionaires have been doing for decades.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      81 month ago

      No, the Supreme Court slowly chipped away at anything that bans corruption ever since the Powell Memo was written.

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    7
    edit-2
    1 month ago

    To clarify, we all know the Citizens United decision legalized bribery of Congress; this article talks about the removal of protections on bribery and revolving door practices in the executive branch. With those protections in place he might have had trouble filling his administration with his favorite billionaires.

  • @btaf45
    link
    61 month ago

    Make Corruption Great Again

  • magnetosphere
    link
    fedilink
    51 month ago

    I’m pretty cynical, especially when it comes to the Cheeto in Chief. As far as I’m concerned, this is the least damaging thing he’s done. Bribery is, quite literally, the least of the problems his presidency will create.

  • MedicsOfAnarchy
    link
    41 month ago

    Another shocking development from the Lobster Mobster.

  • Lemminary
    link
    41 month ago

    And just like that, we got the blatant corruption of the US government. Holy shit! lol Well if it weren’t so tragic it’d almost be entertaining. I’m so sorry to all Americans. Truly, you’ve always deserved better than this.