March 6, 2025
In 2020, near the end of his first term as President of the United States, President Trump took the unorthodox position of pardoning or commuting the sentences of several elected officials convicted on various corruption related charges. Overall, Trump’s 238 acts of clemency in his first term (among the lowest of any president) pale in comparison to the number from former President Joe Biden, which exceeded 4,240 (the highest of any president).
Biden’s most controversial acts of clemency included the pardon of his son Hunter Biden, whom Biden previously claimed he would not pardon; preemptive pardons for other family members and political and governmental figures including Doctor Anthony Fauci and select Members of Congress; and the commutation of “cop killer” Leonard Peltier who murdered FBI agents Jack Coler and Ronald Williams. This alone would justify the sense among Trump supporters that there was a corruption problem that existed within the government and that lady justice was not blind.
Trump has aggressively asserted executive authority to start his second term, keeping his campaign promises. He has used executive orders, threats of tariffs and sanctions, and the shuffling of law enforcement priorities to address foreign trade issues, illegal immigration and trafficking, the protection of women’s sports, and government waste and abuse of taxpayer funds, among others.
Trump’s first weeks have cast doubts about the new administration’s commitment to combating public corruption. In what might be best described as the anti-anti-corruption trifecta, the Trump administration dropped federal charges against New York City mayor Eric Adams, pardoned former Illinois Governor Rod Blagejovich, and suspended Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) investigations.
According to the Department of Justice’s September 2024 press conference about the Eric Adams bribery indictment, “For nearly a decade, Adams has used his prominent positions in New York City government to obtain illegal campaign contributions and luxury travel. Adams solicited and accepted these benefits from foreign nationals, businessmen, and others.”
Since President Trump’s election, there have been multiple reports suggesting that Adams planned to publicly support the administration. Many have inferred that Adams sought to gain favor with the administration in hopes of the favorable prosecutorial decision he just received.
Blagojevich, an avid Trump supporter who was found guilty of trying to, in essence, sell the Senate seat in Illinois vacated by former President Barack Obama to the highest bidder, was granted a commutation at the end of Trump’s first term. Last week Blagojevich was granted a pardon. It is rumored that Blagojevich will run for mayor of Chicago, one of the most notoriously corrupt cities in the U.S.
The White House also announced an EO pausing enforcement of the FCPA, “unless the Attorney General determines that an individual exception should be made.” During which time, “the Attorney General shall review guidelines and policies governing investigations and enforcement actions…and update.” Most Americans would likely agree that domestic corruption is more important than foreign corruption but these policies, taken together, send a signal to those engaged in or inclined to engage in public corruption that they will get a pass.
For decades, corporations that operate in and out of the U.S. have spent incalculable sums training and monitoring their employees to ensure FCPA compliance, if only out of fear of prosecution, fines, penalties, etc. This has probably helped ethical corporate culture in America and perhaps overseas. If the attitude about what is acceptable or ethical in business changes on foreign soil, then it could, when coupled with the other signals the administration is sending about combating domestic corruption, begin to change the way corporations view acceptable or ethical business practices on U.S. soil.
Part of the White House’s argument, echoed by some anti-corruption experts, is that FCPA enforcement was well-intended but has been ineffectual and even counterproductive, disadvantaging U.S. companies facing corrupt competition. Whatever the case, the decision to halt FCPA investigations will be noted by criminals and law enforcement alike.
Prosecuting political enemies is far worse, of course, than pardoning or choosing not to prosecute political allies, but the long-term impact of going soft on corruption will lead to worsening of corruption in the U.S.
Many Trump supporters argue that there are compelling reasons to distrust the federal government, especially federal law enforcement, and can point to numerous government and media reports that are a matter of public record. Many embrace the “burn it all down” approach. However, such an approach would doubtless over time lead to more public corruption – the very thing Trump supporters voted to end.
Trump’s policies are not unique to him. Whatever politician’s on both sides of the aisle may say, their actions suggest an indifference to public corruption prosecutions. Of course, this will not prevent public officials from feigning outrage over the three decisions made recently by the administration. But the White House and Republicans might pause to reflect how well selective prosecutions have worked in the other direction.
Being agnostic about the fight against corruption will not just likely create a long-term corruption problem in the U.S., but it could also undermine the administration’s immediate priorities of addressing trafficking, smuggling, and government fraud, waste, and abuse. As former Afghan parliamentarianHossein Balkhi once said, “Corruption is the tree. Terrorism, destabilization, smuggling, and poppy are its branches. If you cut down corruption, the rest will die.”
Jeff Cortese, a financial crimes manager in the private sector, is the former acting chief of the FBI’s Public Corruption Unit, and author of Public Corruption in the United States: Analysis of a Destructive Phenomenon. Before his 11-year career with the bureau, he worked as a dignitary protection agent with the U.S. Capitol Police and served on the security detail for the Speaker of the House. Follow him on Twitter @jeffreycortese or find him at his website www.jeffcortese.com.
Comments