Trump Is Running His Transition Team on Secret Money
www.nytimes.com
Breaking with past practice, President-elect Donald J. Trump has not agreed to disclose the donors paying for his planning effort or to limit their contributions.

Summary

Donald Trump’s transition team is raising unlimited funds from undisclosed donors, including foreign nationals, bypassing federal transparency rules by refusing to sign agreements with the Biden administration.

This breaks from tradition, sparking concerns about potential conflicts of interest and influence over the incoming administration.

The team has also failed to enable FBI background checks for appointees and has not submitted an ethics plan required for pre-inauguration access to federal agencies.

Critics warn that this secrecy undermines accountability during the critical handover of power.

Non-paywall link

  • themeatbridge@lemmy.world
    1941·
    10 days ago

    I think the big takeaway is that the only thing atanding between our government and corruption is “tradition.”

    • cmbabul@lemmy.world
      82·
      10 days ago

      Way too much of how our institutions function was built on the honor system. And now it’s too late to harden those safeguards

      • WalnutLum@lemmy.ml
        2·
        10 days ago

        I think a lot of It was written with the implied “and if they don’t somebody will just shoot them”

        • cmbabul@lemmy.world
          39·
          10 days ago

          I wouldn’t completely disagree although I would say he cranked the corruption to 11 more than anyone previously

          • capital_sniff@lemmy.world
            151·
            10 days ago

            Of course he’s going to go ham this season. Why wouldn’t he? He was never held to account for any of the corruption and crime during his first term. The new Trump admin won’t be like the last one where some people were able to obstruct the most ridiculous requests. I predict we will nuke at least one hurricane in the coming 4 years.

        • Steve@communick.newsEnglish
          192·
          10 days ago

          I’d say you’re assuming modern context.

          The institutions were created centuries ago by the constitution.
          It was written with a presumption of a certain kind of honor. One that’s no longer shared by modern sensibilities.
          I believe that’s what cmbabul was referring to.

    • dutchkimble@lemy.lol
      74·
      10 days ago

      (Insert Morpheus pic)

      What if I told you…The only thing linking government and corruption is tradition