ConvenIently. Left the Clintons and Clinton foundation off the list. O and the Obamas elevation in wealth during their time in office. It’s all quid pro quo.
Thank you! Finally someone is stating what I have said for years. The criminality of the millionaire class has been ignored for years. While tens of thousands of poor people languish in jail for stealing a few dollars, those stealing millions from taxpayers are lauded and fawned over. It is about time that blatant criminality among the millionaire class is prosecuted.
33
United States is officially became a Banana Republic on March 24, 2019 both politically and legally.
3
Maybe you should be asking why the state of New York didn’t uncover any bank fraud. And by the way, of the 34 people, 25 are Russian. Will the Dept of Justice now be going after the Dems who have not registered as lobbyists for foreign countries? I’m talking to you, Podesta.
Again your focus completely misses the most blatant corruption in decades the righteous and sainted Obama administration prosecuted I believe one mid level banker for the financial Crisis. The world came to the brink of disaster yet besides the little guys who lied on their mtg application no one close to the walls of power were held accountable. That is with two black attorney generals and a sitting black president. The only reason race is mentioned is that of course according to them it hurt blacks more than whites. Yet no consequences.
1
Better yet, drain the swamp.
1
Good article, but you should have at least included in your rogue's gallery all of the crooked "banksters" that Obama's corrupt Attorney General Eric Holder refused to prosecute following the Great Recession caused by their boundless greed.
1
The biggest problem Americans want reconciled is the divisiveness among the polity. Mueller's report, and the DOJ review thereof, concluded no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian interests nor any obstruction, despite three years of MSM assurances of the opposite outcome. Half the country would like to see as thorough an examination of the alleged political corruption among the top 25 senior officials of the FBI/DOJ investigating Trump's conduct and exonerating HRC's. That latter investigation has just started.
Americans also want to understand whether the American MSM can ever again be relied upon to deliver straight, balanced news analysis to enable citizens to vote responsibility, without having to comb two largely cherry-picked, speculative and grossly distorted narratives that have only about 10% in a shared base of news priority, fact and analysis. That's an intolerable time burden on citizens and foments further divisiveness.
Finally, Americans are gravely concerned that our choices of candidates are presently limited to venal, power-hungry, lying pond scum artfully posturing themselves as dedicated public servants. A key driver of that trend is that our libel and slander laws permit unrestrained personal destruction of candidates by opponents, third parties, and the press. We all cherish the 1st Amendment, but not at the cost of having only the dregs of society willing to risk the destruction of their families by running for public service.
1
"what Mr. Mueller really found, above all, was abundant evidence of crimes against democracy itself."
Americans love the word "democracy"--to name of their form of government. It's due to a mistaken association with ancient Athens as a demo-cracy--assumed to be "people power" ("...archy" meant "rule by"--as in monarchy, oligarchy); it also contrasts with "aristo-cracy"--originally power of the best--morphing into the feudal "nobility" propped up by clergy (divine right). Thus the romance/amour of "democracy".
But--
(a) all governments give power/authority to people;
(b) democracy is supposed to be common people "commoners" without great inherited wealth--thus the "Commonwealths".
(c) US plutocracy resurrected over a century ago--outranking common people power, by far.
(d) Athens was really a form of federalism--many levels of polity--a diffusion of authority: the 139 demes (precincts/counties) were basic. Demes sent elected officials to the central (federal) polity--thus "deme-power" (like state/city/country--electoral district power).
(e) The federal/central polity was really a constitutional (politeia) bureaucracy. So too USA. Legislative, executive (POTUS + appointed cabinet, appointed judiciary--all with due processes and many levels of appeal. These partly constitute "Rule of Law;" it's NOT people rule/power. Authority is diffused in the system.
Mueller "dis-covered" many layers of corruption--abuse of authority. But Trump sought Russian hacker help on TV.
4
Spot on!
Hear, hear!
Begin with the corruption of journalism in the MSM.
So..? This is new??? 😯😉
Washington is awash in money coming from the major sources in every direction, foreign and domestic, overt and hidden. The Mueller investigations have hardly scratched the surface. The real shame is that most of it is nice and legal. The business sectors have captured their regulators by revolving door, Congress welcomes the lobbying billions, often allowing corporations to write prospective laws, and it chronically cuts the budget of the IRS, which returns many dollars for every dollar funded to its operation, mostly from the top 5%. There is no appetite to break up our near-monopolies or redress the gross and ultimately counterproductive disparity of wealth. And it's getting worse day by day. Will our nation awake by 2020?
96
@Dan K I agree. What Mueller found is only the tip of the iceberg.
24
@Dan K That's like waiting for the handsome prince to kiss Snow White and bring her back. Ain't going to happen!
2
As a total moron on law issues, even I have been saying this as each new indictment came out. It's no wonder regular citizens have been losing faith in our institutions. While the majority of us follow the rules, we see the affluent and the politicians flaunting laws and getting away with it. They take bribes, they are hired with huge salaries to do nothing but make political connections. They laugh at majority citizen opinions and circumvent procedures to get the laws that they want. They pay their way into schools for their kids that will grow up to be our next leaders. They manipulate the stock market. They look us right in the eyes while lying with a straight face.
They do all of these thing and more with complete impunity. Trump is merely one of many of these criminals and we know this, yet have no power to change anything. The world is very depressing now.
22
It is time for a war on corruption. Hire more cops (IRS agents, white collar crime prosacuters etc) go after all the cheats, taxes and otherwise, and we probably would cut the deficit in half.
5
How come all this corruption took a corrupt Presidency to be revealed. How many thousands of crooks have escaped without being caught ? Will they ever be ?
4
Well, it does seem that rich white guys still get all the breaks anyone could hope for.
I do look forward to the day when the scales of Lady Justice are finally brought into balance because she is truly blind to "white," "male," and "rich." (And for me that would obviously include the man currently in the White House...)
3
Mr Wu has underlined a key lesson from the Mueller investigation: that folks like Trump’s associates and activities like theirs are the tip of the iceberg. Time to turn over some more rocks and see what squirms out.
8
Thank you for this chilling piece of truth. "We've only just begun..."
2
Thoughtful piece. So much corruption it makes my aging head spin. No wonder the American people are disillusioned. But what puzzles me is why are they attracted to conmen like Donald Trump who are the embodiment of the swamp and who surrounds himself with swamp groupies? I wonder if I was naive all these years and didn’t understand the extent of the swampiness. Maybe the rot is now just getting too hard to ignore, the stench too great to bear.
23
people don't like to condemn their own kind: police don't tell on police; doctors don't testify against doctors; attorney's don't testify against attorneys, men cover up for other men.... and so on.
All this hoopla is over a rather biased and terse summary by an already biased Attorney General who should have recused himself from any Russian involvement. There is too much buying of his carefully worded memo. The Trump crowd is crowing over something which has only revealed their own criminality.
7
@Karn Griffen Perfectly said.
4
Dear Tim,
There do not seem to be investigators with enthusiasm distributed equally among crimes investigated.
Who will provide the path toward antitrust? Is it too late to find law on this planet?
6
The new idea in policing. We’ll call it the “broken skyscraper theory “. Just arrest every person who is operating out of the top floor office for criminal behavior. After all, they couldn’t have gotten there without breaking the law. Then plow all their fines into lowering taxes on law abiding citizens.
3
"The Swamp", aka the White House, the ship of state into which Donald Trump has been furiously pumping swamp water and swamp critters.
3
The writer of this article may want to do a little more investigating on his own. If he’s read anything from Breitbart News or listened to conservative talk radio, he’d learn that most of the people working in D.C. are absolute grifters, from the politicians who are elected for 30 years running to the retired pol who is now a rich lobbyist.
1
@Cjmesq0
"..to the retired pol who is now a rich lobbyist" to the people with whom Trump has surrounded himself.
Bottom line: Russiagate is nothing but a non-sensical bogus mass distraction. Oafish-boorish Trump was selected by the Electoral College by a landslide, in total contradiction of the popular vote, yet those without critical thinking skills or understanding of the electoral system opt for to blame Russia for their own corrupt electoral system. Those who haven't been stripped of their critical thinking skills understand that Trump has done everything contrary to Russia’s interests so far. Wouldn't it be a whole lot easier to admit that a war criminal Hillary Clinton could not win in spite of having twice the budget Trump had, the whole political machinery, AIPAC, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the CIA, the media, the super PACS, the fossil fuel mafia, Wall Street, Hollywood, Obama and Michelle as cheerleaders, a large part of the Republican Party including the Bushes and even Madonna giving out tricks for free?
3
Get the Mueller report. Do your jobs.
1
Kushner's influence peddling should be a crime spree, and if it is not, then the laws need to be changed. I am reading Kushner, Inc., and boy does it reveal "sickening" escapades in the Trump administration.
The loophole in the anti-Nepotism laws that allows Javanka to interfere in the Presidency needs to be closed, like yesterday.
Those two flipped the bird at ethics rules. They are using Trump's Presidency to promote their own business interests and those of the Kushner family. If it is not illegal, then laws need to be written to make it illegal. Instead of their designer digs, those two need to be in orange jumpsuits making little rocks out of big rocks.
6
@Ann
Yes, and whatever happened to “RICO”?
2
@Ann Perfectly said.
End Citizens United.
11
While it benefits both Republicans and Democrats crimes will continue under both parties and will continue until we are all dead or the parties are eliminated. Money gives you power over anything else in life and according to the Bible is the root of all evil why we have never learn this lesson is beyond me
1
The fish, as they say, rots from the head down. Forget the Mueller report. Concentrate on SDNY and Congressional investigations. The swamp has become a sewer and it must be cleansed.
3
Yup. However, how about the guy that's loitering on that park bench. Are we just gonna let him get away with that?
By all means! Let's start open ended investigations into Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and especially the Clintons.
2
Donald Trump is not concerned about corruption; he knows he does not have to be. While praising the intelligence of the American electorate, he secretly knows that they can be led around like a bulls with nose rings - only instead of bull rings, he uses their beliefs and prejudices to lead them wherever he wants.
If DJT doesn't destroy our fragile democracy, he has published the blueprint and playbook for some other demagogue to do it later. If a democracy like America's is going to exist, there will have to be a paradigm shift in human thought throughout the world.
In the near future, we will program the human mind in the computer based on a "survival" algorithm, which will provide irrefutable proof as to how we trick the mind with our ridiculous beliefs about what is supposed to survive - producing minds programmed de facto for destruction. These minds see the survival of a particular belief as more important than the survival of us all. When we understand all this, we will begin the long trek back to reason and sanity.
See RevolutionOfReason.com
You are right!! Today 2019 feels more like the a mash of swamp land from the fictional God Father I, II, III to the Sopranos!
There is enough evidence of crime corruption abuse of power privilege to give state and federal officials plenty to go after Trump his organization his family and his friends. This is not a political matter, this is a matter of cleansing our system off the kind of corruption that has become normalized.
Lawmakers! Keep your eyes on the Prize, keep after the crumbs scattered by the Mueller investigations, by the SDNY and so on! We still haven’t heard from Allen Weisselberg, he knows everything the Trump family has done to become rich at all costs.
32
Instead of going to the trouble and expense of convicting white collar criminals for the crimes they actually commit, like money laundering, tax evasion, insider trading, bribery, and fraud, just ask them a question they will lie about and that prosecutors can prove is lie and convict them on perjury. Then give them the maximum sentence for perjury and at least they'll do a little time.
3
yes please. corruption is the most important topic of our day and can be seen at every level of society. Also think Theranos. Where do we get started?
4
They stopped doing investigators like Abscam because the corruption was evident everywhere they looked- so they stopped looking. Just like now.
4
This should be the Democratic response, on steroids. They made a good start with HR 1, which Mitch McConnell is stonewalling. What the Mueller investigation made clear is that the swamp Donald Trump inhabits has a lot of alligators and snakes in expensive suits swimming in it. They can say, "Trump promised to drain the swamp. He flooded it instead." Dems should shift their focus quickly away from anything Russia and shine a klieg light on all forms of corruption in and around government.
18
@abigail49 actually Trump turned the swamp into a cesspool.
1
no collusion; after two long years of intense investigation
keep moving the goalposts
keep deflecting
keep up the negative propaganda and muck raking.
howz it working out so far?
meanwhile, the original dossier paid for by Clinton and DNC, that is the real scandal.
1
@Joe Yoh
Glad you mention the dossier - some of it verified, none disproven.
3
This column seems a little confused. Not quite sure why the comments on the War on Drugs made it in.
Last year, overdoses from illegal drugs killed roughly 70,000 Americans. More than homicides, more than car accidents, more than the two combined. And countless more lives are ruined.
Manafort may be a crook who failed to report lobbying activities and hid income and may be in jail the rest of his life (he is almost 70), but last I checked he didn’t kill anyone.
And then 25 of Mueller’s indictments are Russian spies/hackers who will never be brought to justice. Important targets, yes, but not part of the “swamp” in the traditional sense. And in any event, dealing with them probably requires more of an intelligence agency response than a prosecutorial response.
Trump’s campaign, being so out of the political mainstream, attracted an odd assortment of characters. Would a two year investigation into the Obama administration have produced the same results? Other than the Russian hackers (that did occur during his administration), I doubt it, but I could be wrong (it does look like Clapper and Brennan lied under oath during testimony on surveillance, and lying is what got most of the 6 indictees associated with Trump and his campaign).
Mr. Wu is right. I want a President who stands up to Russian interference in our democracy, not a President who defends it.
I want a President who proposes laws that increase punishments for our enemies who hack into state election systems, who steal emails of one party and release them to help their boy, and who create fake accounts so they can post misleading messages on social media.
I want a President who recruits staff, campaign officials and department heads who do not commit crimes in office and who do not prove corrupt in their relations with lobbyists.
Trump has never been that president. Republicans ought to be ashamed that they elected him, and they ought to be ashamed of every moment they’ve supported him.
9
@WestHartfordguy. Unfortunately, shame has been surgically removed from all Republicans now in office and they are incapable of displaying remorse, regret, courage, and integrity.
2
If my children were younger, I would encourage them to be republican white collar criminals. The chance of getting caught is almost nil, and they would get to keep all the money they steal tax-free. If, by some fluke they get caught, the chance of doing any jail time is minimal. After building their fortune, they could become lobbyists for dark businesses - guns, tobacco, vaping, oligarchs, etc. Great country this America.
8
It is just as well that Robert Mueller concluded that there was no collusion. It allows us to go to the polls with a clear mind and to retire Trump for what he truly is : An awful human being.
5
the swamp? two years of intense investigation, and zero evidence of conspiring with Russia.
So many were so "sure", so confident, so hopeful for ...something.
the delusions and groupthink were astounding to behold.
meanwhile, in the real swamp, the entire fantasy was concocted by the Clinton machine and handed to their Swamp friends, and spread to the media. That is the real scandal. So awful. the fake news, the spin, the Dem senators pretending they had seen evidence. The original dossier, made up and spread around. terrible.
That is the swamp we should, with intellectual honesty and non-partisan views, be terribly concerned about. This swamp, for the good of the country, we must drain.
1
How true. Mueller's investigation may have uncovered just the tip of the iceberg, corruption being widespread, especially when sensible regulation and public supervision are absent. This is especially pertinent in this capitalistic system absent ethics and common sense pragmatism that follows the 'golden rule'. And in these terrible Trumpian times, where there is so much incompetence, corruption is a given. You didn't mention our current vulgar bully in-chief, but he, along with McConnell, are the key facilitators of graft. I'm afraid that the lost trust in our democratic institutions will take a long time to return, certainly much beyond the evil reign of the current narcissist in the Oval Office. Needless to say, if this demagogue were to be re-elected, the people would fully own and deserve him. And that would be disgraceful, and the joke on us, having a liar and a crook take us to the slaughterhouse...by our noses.
3
To sum it up...the white collar defense is
I STOLE IT AND IT IS LEGALLY MINE
4
We will know that we have begun to turn a corner when, as is most likely, Trump is sent to prison after he leaves office. As significant as that would be, the images of Trump being shuffled off to a state or federal prison are what will stick in people's heads.
Some twelve-year-old boy, watching the news, needs to turn to his mother and ask what is happening. Once that is explained to him, that image needs to resonate; of a (formerly) sitting president in handcuffs and sent packing to prison. Monkey see; monkey do.
And, by the way, that is what should have happened to Nixon, Reagan, and George W. Bush. All of them committed substantial crimes while in office; Nixon in Watergate, Reagan in Iran-Contra and W with the WMD lies that led to a war that we did not need.
4
Half of Americans and 90% of politicians would go to jail if everyone were put under a prosecutorial microscope and the full weight of the law were thrown at them.
Legal scholars regarding the present issues need to be heard;
the news pundits are not qualified to make any statements
whatsoever...since they just report what they learn from
other news media.
Legal issues regarding the Mueller Report should only be
assessed by those who actually understand legal matters.
Pundits...are not legal scholars...
Patience for the full Mueller Report is now needed.
This fiasco, Mr. Leonhardt is NOT for you to have any opinion
on...leave to those who are qualified to do so.
Agreed. As a simple example, consider the free-pass given to the white collar criminals who led us into the 2008 crash. No serious investigation or prosecution, effectively giving a green light to the Manaforts, Stones, and Trumps who are all too willing to bend, twist and violate law.
2
Does anyone believe that if such resources and time were committed to an investigation of Hillary's campaign that a similar pool of swamp creatures would not also be revealed? Swamps are beautiful and productive. The Washington-based social and political culture is more of a cesspool.
For several decades, Washington insiders know that both Democratic and Republican Presidents appoint their US Justice Department Attorney Generals – from prestigious fraud collar defendant law firms. DOJ Attorney Generals and DOJ Division heads almost inevitably come from successful careers defending successful financial criminals. No DOJ Attorney General has ever been prosecuted for tacitly deciding not to prosecute the biggest financial crooks.
Why? Because successful financial criminals who defeat DOJ forfeiture are a rich source of backdoor political funds. Also, Democratic and Republican Presidents want their own get rich-quick-schemes right after leaving government to collect their payoffs, millions of dollars from “speaking” fees etc. – from Fraud Street, lobbying firms, and other “special political interest groups.”
Moreover, there appears to be a “civil war” raging between career prosecutors who want to put crooks out of business – versus the political appointees who are appointed to castrate the prosecutors.
That’s why America’s middle class is severely damaged and forced to pay higher tax rates to subsidize the rampant financial criminality of wealthy crooks who are taxed at lower effective rates by pre-purchasing political appointees at DOJ.
Bottom line. To drain the swamp, future Presidents should – but probably won’t – appoint Justice Department Attorney Generals from patriotic anti-fraud whistleblower law firms and asset forfeiture law firms.
3
This is so right on. White-collar privilege needs to end.
4
Nonsense.
After tropical rainforests and coral reefs swamps are among the most critically diverse and important and productive ecosystems on Earth. The swamp metaphor is a result of scientific ignorance and stupidity. Draining a swamp is the most damaging thing that can be done.
Among the more apt and proper alternative metaphors would be to clean out the pig pen/ sty or clean out the human waste sewer system or clean out the toilets or septic tanks or outhouses or portable toilets.
MAGA!
4
The republicans would never allow the prosecution of their donor class that is why no records are kept of visitors to Mar -A-Lago . The money to be made off the presidency by a con artist is unlimited and we will eventually find out when he is gone what this crime family has gotten away with.
3
Voters who want less corruption have nowhere to go.
The Clinton Foundation was an open sore. Biden's son pursued business opportunities in a country (Ukraine) where his dad had just helped overthrow the government. And revolving doors between government and businesses are everywhere.
The persecution of Manafort and co forms in this context a familiar pattern. The real reason they were persecuted was their connection to Trump. It is just like the war on drugs: the goal is not justice but to keep the public happy without disturbing the system.
5
@WIMR
The goal of your post was to paint the Democratic side as corrupt and Republicans as victims, using overly broad strokes and disinformation.
3
In Brazil it is called the “Lava Jato” in English the car wash. The uncovering of a bribery scandal at a car wash has led to the investigation of countless politicians and their cronies by the Brazilian form of the FBI and its ranking judiciary. Two of the last 3 former Presidents are in jail and the other one was impeached. So, can the US mount a lava jato. I sincerely doubt it because corruption is not at the top list of citizens daily life problems. Also the DOJ is controlled by the Executive and not the judicial branch. With the current administration only investigations against opponents will occur. Sine for now the DOJ is a strong institution I think you will see none of it. Americans new much about Trump’s bankruptcies and shady dealing. They voted for him anyway. Better to hope for a hurricane free 2019 than a US lava jato.
6
Actually, American voters already started to clean this out. Trump was the starter. Next one might come from the other side.
1
Absolutely!! When the judge who gave Paul Manafort a light sentence telegraphed his bias, and pointed out that "but for" the (political) investigation of Donald Trump, Manafort would not be in the courtroom being tried, he was absolutely correct. But the bigger question is "why?" Why are influence peddlers and tax evaders allowed to flout the law without being charged? Why are commercial real estate kingpins like DT and his son-in-law allowed to cheat the government and launder money but only face scrutiny if they run for office? The rich and powerful have come to act as though the law does not apply to them, because it doesn't. Then when one or more of them are singled out and prosecuted, they cry 'foul' because they were just doing what they've always done. The circular logic that is always applied when anyone attempts to do tax reform is, 'we did nothing wrong because all of our tax avoidance strategies were legal'. Followed by, 'and since we did nothing wrong it shouldn't be illegal'.
4
What is beyond perplexing is that an investigation into collusion could not have a clearly define the scope. Think about how rarely a special prosecutor is even appointed. There has to be reasonable cause and evidence of a crime worthy of investigation. The only Americans being prosecuted by Mueller committed crimes that had nothing to do with collusion, the Trump campaign or anything else related to what we thought Mueller was supposed to investigate.
How is this even constitutional? Could you imagine if the government was permitted to initiate an investigation on you to find out if you might have ever committed a crime. In fact, isn't that exactly what the State of New York is doing right now by investigating Trump and every member of his family that intends to go back 20-30 years looking for any possible crimes? How many Americans have committed crimes that no one will ever know about? If this process were theoretically constitutional, then there would likely be tens of millions of crimes uncovered. I'm not expressing an opinion on whether it is okay to get away with committing crimes, only that I would not want to live in a country that launched such fishing expeditions for possible crimes on anyone, without reasonable cause.
BTW - I am not a lawyer, but I can't imagine that evidence found, if any, from the NYS investigation of Trump will ever be permitted to be introduced as evidence in a trial. It surely had to have been obtained in violation of the constitution.
3
You missed the point of the article. There is more white-collar crime that needs to be prosecuted. Instead we a throwing more people of color in prison for small drug issues. There needs to be a balance.
3
Really we need a balance. Our local politicians have come up with the same theory. too many blacks in prison. So now gun crimes are pled down then you can get a recognizance bond to promise to come back for a court date. Well thanks to that thinking you have young black offenders killing civilians and each other while out on the street. A balance based on racial quotas is not what we need.
Democracy is a political theory. In and of itself there is no essential moral code upon which it stands. In a culture increasingly libertarian (from both left and right perspectives), materialistic, and tribal is it any wonder that criminality and the pursuit of power is vast? What ails democracy is less a matter of law and more a matter of the absence of moral reasoning and fiber. All the investigations and laws ever conceived will not save democracy without sufficient moral footings.
3
Corruption is as American as apple pie (read the book "George Washington's Expense Account" by Marvin Kitman). If after 200 years we haven't made a dent in it, it's unlikely another 200 years will either.
2
True Mueller has uncovered crooked dealings of Cohen and Manaford and before that wikileaks had exposed all the corruption at the DNC. I just saw an article in the NY Times about Duke University to pay 112 million to settle claims of research misconduct to the tune of 200 million. Few months ago there was an article about an ivy league school had committed misconduct on stem cell research. The swamp is deep and wide and one sure way to begin to shrink it is to cut the sources of federal funding. If there is an across the board funding cuts to the tune of 50% to all non essential programs we can pay down the debt and support only the best well vetted essential programs.
Government contractor are living high on the hog and whilesome are stringently vetted most are just money thrown at problems expecting that there will be sound returns for the tax payers with possible kick backs and a large indirect costs.
Investigation the swamp will only tell us what we already know but preventing the swamp from growing and shrinking the swamp would be beneficial to the tax payers and the nation.
11
It's not at all reassuring, to say the least, that Mitch McConnell has blocked H.R. 1, which was created by the Democratic-led House of Representatives to fight back against blatant corruption in voting rights, pay-to-play and a whole slew of outrageously-corrupt current practices in our government.
In doing so, McConnell has in effect said that corruption is just dandy so long as it helps keep Republicans in power.
Is this the democracy our Founding Fathers envisioned?
Nope.
46
Another excellent article, Mr. Wu. Many great points.
As Michael Kinsley said, "The scandal is not what is illegal, the scandal is what is legal". This investigation has definitely put a spotlight on corruption and I believe many people have been appalled at the extent of it.
Something that really astonishes us out here in the hinterlands is how our own DOJ undermines our democracy by telling us that their position is that a sitting President cannot be indicted. Seems to me we go to vote every 4 years and we do not vote for a King. Laws apply to everyone, period.
39
Mueller did not exonerate Donald Trump; however it seems
that AG Barr was predisposed not to agree with Mueller at all.
AG Barr most likely was set to make his opinion ...just his
point of view known ….which would contradict Mueller's
report which does not exonerate Trump from wrongdoing.
I believe that both AG Barr and Mueller should be asked in an
open hearing what they each based their opinions on...since
they do not agree as the the outcome of the Mueller report.
Open hearings in the Congress will allow the public to assess
the truth..and the entire report should be reviewed.
I think that the advent of the worst law in our history ; Citizens United will be repealed...the argument for repealing
Citizens United should be reviewed and argued by legal
scholars..soon.
26
Thank you @superwuster (Tim Wu) for identifying the real problem, corruption. Its just too bad Muelller was not also tasked with this cancer on our society. I would like to now what our Government will do to penalize the Trump family for cheating the treasury of millions with their inheritance scam (see NYT investigation.) I am hoping the SDNY investigations spun of by Mueller brings us some justice.
When the other ongoing corruptions are brought to book is another major issue. I wonder which set of politicians are brave enough to address this systemic crime.
19
Don’t wonder the lefts savior and saint was is Bernie Sanders. His acquiescence was paid for with a third house on a lake and charges not brought or dropped against his wife for the minimum of malfeasance.
"What the indicted targets threatened were key pillars of democracy itself, including an uncorrupted electoral process, a government free from secret foreign influence and the credibility of the main channels of speech.” In other words, the huge, hidden cesspool uncovered by Mr. Mueller’s investigation is the predicate for Mr. Trump’s presidency. Focusing full bore on that swamp, as Prof. Wu rightly advises, might be the best way to preclude having another Donald Trump crawl out of it and into the White House. We have to defend ourselves - currently it's swamp 1, country 0.
31
I hope the DCCC reads this article. Tom Perez, you need to spearhead a vigorous response to the Mueller report & the Republican's effort to leverage it.
19
Business-as-usual corruption is how our government operates for the most part, so draining the swamp could tank the stock market and bring about a recession. Highly-paid lobbyists who actually write the laws would be replaced by government-salary-grade employees writing the laws.
Lawyerly corruption involves getting laws written and interpreted so that the income of and need for lawyers is maximized. Thus product liability matters do not get settled unless lawyers get a goodly portion of the proceeds. Officers in military procurement know they will retire and have shots at jobs in the industries that support our military, and treat matters accordingly. We could deliver health care with much smaller health insurance companies, but they make sure this will not happen.
All these activities are actually legal as long as the actors do not get carried away, but since the penalties for going too far are small and the laws seldom enforced, there is little downside to getting carried away.
6
Mr Wu is on-target. Business-as-usual has been so deeply embedded in sleaze for so long, most of the US Government -- in at least the executive and legislative branches -- carries the "germs" of corruption the same way Typhoid Mary carried her lethal (to others) typhus
cocktail.
I'd expand Mr Wu's excellent point about how even these miscreants would probably have never been found if they hadn't happened to be in the Trump sphere of influence.
In my view, the casual acceptance of unquestioned perjury -- lying under oath -- and the insidious spreading of false accusations that have bedeviled Congress and this Administration -- need to be abandoned for a much stricter rule of prosecution. Just because someone has been the FBI Director does not mean we should ignore it when his or her statements to Congress are self-contradictory or unbelievably evasive. While some of the plain -- if bad-acting -- citizens who lied under oath are going to jail, James Comey seems to have had a special courtesy card that allowed him to lie, misinform, or "forget" at will, with no adverse consequences to his book sales, TV appearances, or reputation.
This double standard for "members of the club" is far worse than just the typical K Street maneuvers. When prosecutors, investigators, and Government staff lawyers enjoys immunity from even suspicion or answering questions, there is no rule of law.
Mr Wu, congratulations on nailing an important, overlooked policy issue.
10
A lot of this white collar oligarchic corruption stems from our looking askance at the way we allow the rich to control our campaign funding.
And I bet a lot of it could be mitigated if we instituted full public funding of election campaigns, with no organizational, corporate, union, church, PAC or any other group entity contributions allowed, and a very low three digit limit on individual ones.
Having a one dollar, one vote policy--not the one person, one vote policy--certainly encourages white collar corruption, because "money doesn't speak--it swears" and lots of it certainly encourages skirting the edge of legality if you know that dollars can simply be thrown at potential prosecution.
10
I remember reading about President Truman's using his own postage stamps rather than those provided at taxpayers' expense. If he did that today, what would people think?
(By the way, corruption often begins "at home". How many people are there out there, playing computer games on their employer's time and computers?)
5
Thanks for this - hoping it makes traction.
11
To progressives everywhere, neither be discouraged nor intimidated by the yet-unknown result of the Mueller investigation. Whatever it reveals, if and when it is fully released, there exists a treasure trove of evidence without it.
In the months since the presidential campaign, time and time again persuasive evidence has presented itself pointing to campaign collusion with Russia. The evidentiary weight is heavy.
Trump's bizarre behavior in the debates against Hillary Clinton offer one example. His behavior on the podium in Helsinki with President Putin provide another.
The change in the GOP platform regarding Ukraine leading up to the election is a third. The blatant lies about negotiations with Russia regarding the construction of Trump Tower Moscow offers yet another.
Then there was Roger Cohen's spot-on prediction about the imminent release of John Podesta's stolen DNC emails, his known pre-election contact with Gucifer 2.0, and Don Junior's prevarication about the nature of the Trump Tower meeting in June 2016.
Let's not forget Paul Manafort's hand-off of GOP polling data to Russian intelligence, nor Trump's public shout-out to Russia to find Hillary Clinton’s "hidden" email. All of this is only what is plainly known from the standard news media.
Any one of these incidents alone might be written off as concidence, but all of them in-tandem? No collusion? Who is kidding whom?
60
@John LeBaron
Thank you for reminding us of some of the facts to which we have almost become inured.
The reality is that we have a denouement by an unreliable narrator.
The subject of that narration terrorizes us daily from the White House with his affront on decency. We will not shrug and look away or bow our heads.
3
Mueller is the one who shows us the corruption of the swamp? What do you think got Trump elected in the first place? The problem knows no party. but the guardians do. And who will guard the guardians? It is clear the press is not interested, because that would mean a willingness to find corruption in both parties, and the press just can't do that to their allies on the left.
2
@TD
I suggest you read more carefully. The NYT regularly reports on corruption on both sides.
We have an entirely bipartisan swamp. Both parties have evolved their own sophisticated system of influence peddling.
19
sooner rather than later, attorney general bill Barr will realize that he has put himself in a impossible situation. here is just one of them. Trump has lot of enemies, his most dangerous enemies are not Democrats, but those who pose/pretend as his friends/allies, such as Senator Ted Cruz. Trump's fake friends just waiting the most lethal time to stab him to death politically. They merely use trump.
The challenge for Bill Barr is: he doesn't know who is real Trump's ally. And Barr can't please anyone.
8
@Lisa Anderson
you are just feeding Trump's paranoia with this line of talk.
1
It's absolutely stunning to see the contrast between both the articles and the comments discussing this when you transition from Foxnews.com to here. I feel like everything I've been reading we need to focus our energy on getting people to the polls this time around so that we don't have to sit back and take another 4 more years of nonsense.
17
This Trump thing accidentally lifted the curtain revealing the transnational nature of modern business and financial crime. Money laundering, offshore banking, tax evasion; further attached to international trafficking of arms, oil, pharmaceuticals and displaced people. Trump, the media and most corrupt financial big shots conceal the global nature of their transactional lives from us peons by amping up our "nationalist pride", and localizing our concerns. The "swamp" is well beyond our governance.
30
@sginvt Amen! I would agree--we have corruption on a Biblical, truly evil level. Perhaps only God can save us now. There is no place left on earth to escape this criminality. It may be we are at the point where human nature is totally out of control.
I couldn't agree more. I think the fact that the banksters that destroyed the economy in 2008 are still roaming free is the biggest stain on the Obama presidency.
43
@Dave
It's not just the banksters from the 2008 meltdown still roaming free. Obama gave the pharmas large fines for civil/criminal "misdeeds" (thousands of innocent victims died) but not one executive was ever indicted.
6
Enough with investigations already. All they are doing is hiding the forest and exposing a few of the trees.
2
Your suggestion is well intentioned, but what good will investigating and prosecuting all these white collar criminals do if in the end all they'll get is a virtual slap on the wrist, and perhaps even no punishment at all? Isn't that what we've learned, not just from the Mueller Saga, but going back to the Bail Out of 2008 and so many other instances?
Go ahead and launch the investigations, but if we don't fix our broken and corrupted criminal "justice" system, it's not going to deter future white collar crooks from gambling that they can beat the system, or worst case, not pay much of a price if they're caught.
7
Government has come out to be the loser in this investigation. The man on the street sees a terrible waste of time and resources. The winner is Russia. Even though they are the world's experts in misinformation and propaganda, calling them out in public has got more difficult.
4
White collar crime is endemic to capitalism and has so been for 100s of years, so have been especially gross kinds of financial wizardry. Trump and his ability to suborn a cast of pals to perjure themselves for him, however, still stands out in that sorry history.
1
Tough assignment, this. Powerful thugs, protected by more powerful thugs, all hiding behind a foul and compromised government. The bright spot, historically, is that when things go so wrong that there is a war, the losing side can be sanitized by the winning side with very little trouble. Nuremberg didn’t drag on for years, and stashed gold and Rembrandts didn’t get those opportunistic criminals off the hook. Many, in fact met hooks.
It would be nice if we could clean up our own population of thugs, but if we can’t, someone else might just step in.
1
Let’s not forget about privatized prisons and the lobby who thought it up makes millions for its investors on the backs of minorities, uneducated and poor. White collar crime pays....big dividends... it is easy to prosecute the low hanging fruit, fill up jails and the legal industrial complex just goes to the bank with the profits.
It is much better and easier today to own a politician than to try to elect one.
Early in my college education a required class was 2 semesters of American government. At the time in the early 70’s Nixon, the Vietnam war, the start of the drug and marijuana “war” was in full swing. I didn’t realize how much I needed that class and the lasting impression it has left on me.
14
Thank you for this thoughtful article. I hope Congress takes notice.
6
Russian (and earlier, Soviet) provocateurs have been attempting to influence our elections for decades. The principal stated conclusion of the Mueller Report according to the DOJ summary was attempted influence of the Trump campaign by Russian provocateurs that was unsuccessful. So a rejection of Russian provocateurs by Trump, according to Mueller (who has not challenged the veracity of the DOJ's summary of his Report). We should be thankful for that, especially given all of those who have not rejected Russian provocateurs, including all of those that Trump's detractors would otherwise protect from the level of investigation engaged against Trump and his family. No one can seriously question the aggressive zealousness of the Special Prosecution Team in this investigation. The obstruction prosecutions and what went on to secure them further proves the point. Corsi and Caputo can also add to that indisputable conclusion. I wonder whether all those continuing to call for Trump's head would welcome that level of investigation and scrutiny on all those in power over the last decade and all those that currently seek it.
3
@RCS -lets seen the report rather than just the dumbed-down Cliffs Notes version from someone who has previously criticized the process.
5
@David
Not following the "dumbed down" characterization. It was the DOJ summary of the Mueller Report that has not been challenged as inaccurate by Mueller.
1
@RCS
In all of the Russian probes and contacts with the Trump campaign, how many Trump campaign members went to the FBI and said, "Hey, I think this foreign guy is trying to influence us." Answer, none.
“Remarkable in the seismic upheavals of 1933-4 was not how much, but how little, the new Chancellor needed to do to bring about the extension and consolidation of his power. Hitler’s dictatorship was made as much by others as by himself. As the “representative figure” of the “national renewal” Hitler could for the most part function as activator and enabler of the forces he had unleashed, authorizing and legitimating actions taken by others now rushing to implement what they took to be his wishes. Scarcely any of the transformations of Germany during the spring and summer of 1933 had followed direct orders from the Reich Chancellery. Hitler had rarely been personally involved. But he was the main beneficiary.”
--- Ian Kershaw, the noted biographer of Adolf Hitler and scholar of Hitlerism, who was instrumental in introducing the concept of “Working Toward the Führer."
Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
25
@A. Stanton The Reich propaganda machine and the "with us or you're the enemy" combined with obedience was massively effective. It is time to educate people on how individuals can be manipulated. Long after knowing the horrors of WWII, I remember seeing the movies produced to support The Reich. They completely swayed you with how righteous they made you feel to support the evil. So dangerous. I fear for this country under the GOP. For the first time since Nixon or when I lived in eastern EU, I am cautious what I say and where. Seeing the game makes you dangerous.
2
@ A Stanton. Trump’s supposed evening bible, Mein Kampf. The seminal idea is ‘build it and they will come’. Stamping out the foul actors who flock to the nutrients of Washington is difficult. Taking away the feeder is a better idea. The feeder is Trump.
1
Well, let’s investigate the Intel community, the FBI and the media first. Start with that loud mouth dope, John Brennan. And, the gang at CNN. After that, we can take you all more seriously.
7
@Tim Dowd and what, pray tell, are you going to "investigate the media" for? The first amendment was first for a reason. This country was founded by those fleeing a mad king who suppressed their freedom of expression. I may disagree with what you say, but I will fight to the death for your right to say it.
8
Booking a small time drug dealer is much easier than running down white collar scum. Course it can be way more lucrative for the state. How bout a little cost benefit analysis.
11
Obviously there is very little so make the sentencing of financial crimes more jailable not finable with community service.
There is the new Dept of Justice unit devoted to FARA as a result of the Mueller investigation. There must be some referrals for indictments to be named later. The weakness in this area came to light with several indictments. The Wheels of Justice grind slowly. Foreign money is illegal already. Mostly no one gets charged. This isn't easy work either. These people use highly skill talent led by very greedy people. It;s how they get caught.
4
"There is a grave danger that the swirling politics of the Mueller report will lead us to forget what it revealed: a toxic cloud of routine criminality surrounding the American political system....
"The Mueller inquiry may be over, but it should inspire the work of a new generation of prosecutors who want to fight one of the great evils of our time."
The real question is whether this would be enough. Or perhaps more precisely, is it too little too late? Professor Wu's solution presupposes a fundamentally healthy body politic with an immune system vigorous enough repel the toxic invasion.
Over its history the US system has struggled to maintain a delicate balance. The momentum of an inherited idealism based on democracy and justice has squared off against a commercial ethos of unfettered greed and exploitation. We are mired in a period where greed and exploitation are winning the battle, with their powers magnified by the adoption of new technological tools. And the idealism of earlier generations has largely disappeared from the scene. No one still asks, "What can I do for my country?"
The fundamental resiliency of the system to absorb further shocks is also in question. In earlier days the predations of the Robber Barons could be escaped by pushing further into the vast untamed wilderness. But ecological abuse and resource exhaustion are now closing off the traditional escape routes and safety valves. In a world of greater scarcity, modest reforms may no longer suffice.
17
As long as bribing is operating under the made up word 'lobbying' this will continue.
38
Well thought out piece. Investigate the enablers while we are at it!
Without the enablers none of this mess would have been possible.
17
@Nemesisofhubris
Agreed! Investigate the loopholes and other-way looks perfected by the Mitch McConnells of the political world. They have institutionalized the swamp.
Yes. There is also another related need, and that is to expand the severely depleted IRS so it can investigate those who cheat on their taxes and hide their money offshore.
72
Well said.
The war on drugs has always served as a distraction from fundamental inequities in American society. Much of the 9/11 response has served a similar purpose.
In this regard, remember that the US never gets near the top of international transparency and anti-corruption comparisons. We rank in the middle at best.
22
The "war on drugs" was funded and carried out because it was directed at poor people, especially poor people who also happened to be minorities. Taking many of those people off the streets and dumping them into private, profit driven prisons was not a bug, it was a feature. The wealthy ruling class wanted that to happen. There will be no "war" on white collar crime, because the wealthy ruling class does not want that to happen. They are benefiting from it. Most of those who would be responsible for investigating and prosecuting such a war would like to become members of the wealthy class themselves, and do not want to torpedo their chances. So while the author of this piece is entirely correct, I'm not going to hold my breath waiting for aggressive prosecution of white collar crime to happen.
48
I agree with much of what is written here. I am a committed Democrat and will vote against Trump no matter what (or almost no matter what; I will never vote for him). I know our laws have too many holes when it comes to national politics.
If the Democrats do not start showing the public that they care about health care and overpriced medicines, about infrastructure, about numerous other things that show they can focus on some things other than Trump, they run the risk of losing hard-fought gains in 2020.
Speaker Pelosi appears to know this. In the meantime all we see is what has become a circus tent, with the president as the ringmaster.
25
Tradition, habit, corrupt influence and intent have long been part of the political game. Just as (especially young) athletes find it convenient to accept bribes, so it is in the nature of many politicians to desire rigging the system, manipulating the table. Donald J. Trump and his experienced troop did not have to make an overt verbal or written agreement in order to conspire with Putin and his manipulating gang. The corruption was done and continues to be done "in plain sight," in public where the laws are lax or non-existent.
Perhaps some of the activist newcomers to Congress will succeed in creating change, although many people seem to accept, appreciate and applaud those who play the Standard Operating Game. And gaming the system is an enticing challenge to so many both in and out of politics. Eternal Vigilance may seem not as much fun.
Doug Giebel, Big Sandy, Montana
6
Thank you for reframing the headlines from innocence to the illegal acts that were uncovered. Probabilities suggests there is a lot more lurking if efforts were put forth to overturn a stone or two. It's time for people to question policy and support movements, e.g. "[Re-]Occupy Wall Street." P
17
As a former federal prosecutor (DOJ's Public Integrity Section as well as CDCA USAO) and long-time trial attorney: there is a general lack of aggressiveness in investigating and prosecuting the financial and political elite. This is structural as it is due to a combination of factors: that many prosecutors are looking to go to white-shoe law firms (which represent the corporate elite), that higher ups in DOJ are political appointees who are part of the elite establishment who look to protect the establishment (particularly those connected to their party) and that their Main Justice underlings are bureaucrats who have risen by anticipating their bosses unwritten directives, and other sociological factors. One sees the tip of the iceberg occasionally when a prominent official (e..g., David Petraeus) commits significant criminal wrongdoing but is let off with a misdemeanor) but most of it is hidden from the public.
In my experience and assessment there is a widespread vein of criminality in the upper classes, and while it occasionally becomes so blatant it becomes evident and undeniable (an example being the college bribery scandal), 98% of the time it is not investigated never mind prosecuted. It is exactly this lack of vigorous law enforcement in my view that allowed Trump to operate his family real estate enterprise in many aspects as a criminal enterprise (from tax fraud to bank fraud) for decades . . ..
193
@William M. Palmer, Esq.
Yes, and every once in awhile, an investigation snags someone like Robert Kraft, who inadvertently placed himself in a compromising situation within a sting operation - allegedly. It will be interesting to see if he is successful in buying his way out of that jam.....
13
@William M. Palmer, Esq.
Great information. Do you think the same commitment of resources and time toward other national-level political campaigns and Hillary Clinton's, in particular, would have come up with similar cases and of white-collar malfeasance, as with Trump?
8
@carl bumba
Investigating Hillary might turn up something new and interesting, but it probably wouldn't since she's already been investigated at length by several congressional committees and the FBI.
12
Do we really think that our shrinking ineffective government has the funds and talent to fight white collar crime and win? No way. Hundreds of white collar criminals are roaming free decimating our society. We are not a country of laws when it comes to prosecuting the rich and connected. I have zero hope or confidence in our legal system.
48
The real bottom line of the Mueller report is that the future of law enforcement will not be found on street corners. It will be along the K Street corridor, the offices of unsavory real estate developers and the darkest alleys of the information superhighway.
Let's hope so! And then, let's VOTE like we hope so! We must pay attention to races like district attorney and state attorney general and vote for those who promise to take white collar crime as seriously as any other crime. If we do not, the lessons of Mueller will fade and nothing will change.
65
@Rose
Perhaps it is not well known that after the FBI Abscam sting nabbed six representatives and one senator of our US Congress (and several other politicians) for bribery, said US Congress promptly cut the FBI budget.
48
@Dan K
From what Mueller's Report shows, they need a further cut,
1
We can hope that the Mueller standard for investigating and indicting people will be applied uniformly from here on out.
15
@Ed Nice sentiment, but sad to say, don't hold your breath.
It is hard to do anything when the laws on the books have systematic ''flaws'' that allow many things (some of them you would think to be crimes, but are not) to work against said laws. (that is if the actual crimes are prosecuted - as you state)
Everything derives in how we make up our laws, which of course are from the politicians. We in turn vote in said politicians, and if the system for doing so is rife with abuse (as stated above), then we will never be able to change the laws - or even apply the ones that we have.
The republican party mantra is to drown said government in a bathtub, which means they want to ignore ALL of the laws that apply to them, while rolling back others. Government has to be tiny, unless it is in your bedroom or practicing Socialism for the rich and corporations by locking in your tax dollars for them.
It's a self perpetuating cycle that needs to be broken.
42
"The rampant criminality it revealed suggests the desperate need to thoroughly investigate financial, political and electoral criminality in the United States."
It's too late, the Congress is already bought and paid for along with the Supreme Court.
116
@Jacquie, it’s not too late..we have children..and grand children. We owe them the truth and we owe them a clean honest future.
5
@Jacquie The House of Representatives has signs of hope.
6
The billionaires behind the GOP do happen to be a more scurrilous selection than those behind the Dems. GOP assortment have undertaken not just to feather their nests, but to undermine democracy entirely with a monumentally successful brainwashing machine that creates an “alternative” reality for 85% of Republicans now immune to fact and reason.
3
The doors to real, major-scale corruption were opened by the Citizens United decision, which enabled money-launderers an entree to sway public opinion. This won't stop until this wrong-minded ruling is reversed. Until then, the money, and thus, the corruption, will be part and parcel of politics.
140
@BA
The best thing: It´s legal. Nothing to investigate!
Do you remember Bert Brecht, The Threepenny Opera (1928):
"What is the burgling of a bank to the founding of a bank?"
Macheath, in Act 3, scene 3, p. 92
This is apparently outdated in 2000. Who owns banks? Now it´s more sophisticated:
Unknown US donors, The Back Room Game (folk play, first public performance as "Citizens Unlimited" 2003)
"What is the bribe of a politician to the establishment of a Super PAC to support bank friendly politics?"
Because it doesn´t take a bank it´s open for everyone now - everyone who owns sufficient money of course - so it´s an essential contribution to democratisation - in a true monetocracy of course.
A true progress.
2