“A Sordid Family Affair” – The Boston Globe Looks at Nepotism in the Presidency

@ASoulAFire @JaniceOCG Nepotism in the U.S. presidency is considered by @BostonGlobe & what #Congress must do to protect Americans from a repeat of abuses seen in the Trump admin.  See Part 3 of “Future-Proofing the Presidency.”  Join Thurs., 8 pm ET, 1/13 – 4/7/22, “If America Fails?:  The Coming Tyranny.”

“Nepotism is a defining characteristic of monarchies — a system of government the Founders specifically wanted to expel from the United States. So it’s time for Congress to stop, even on occasion, letting the president be king,” conclude the Editors of The Boston Globe in closing Part 3 of their series, “Future-Proofing the Presidency.”

Consider a few quotes from the editorial or check it out at their website with the link below.  — LMO

“Quickly after he was elected. . .it became clear that Trump planned on running the government the same way he ran his business: Hire his family to top positions and flood the White House with loyalists. The result was corruption, incompetence, and what clearly did not come close to meeting the bar of ‘best’ or ‘most serious.’

“These appointments were troublesome for several reasons. First, neither Kushner nor Ivanka Trump had prior qualifications for the work they were assigned, meaning that their appointments were made on the grounds that they had a close relationship with the president. (That relationship would later allow them to get special treatment and give them the ability to flout certain ethics rules.) Second, though both Kushner and Ivanka waived their White House salaries, they still stood to profit from their role in the administration — expanding the Trump family’s use of the presidency as a for-profit operation. And third, such clear displays of nepotism by public officials are illegal — a law that technically applies to the president as well, but in which Trump managed to find loopholes.

“… Given that nepotism is an easy opportunity for public officials to turn their public office into a money-making enterprise — one that the Trump family clearly took advantage of — it’s important to crack down on it at every level of government. After all, nepotism is an act of self-enrichment in and of itself and a quintessential example of petty corruption that undoubtedly sows distrust in government.

“… Congress should pass a bill to make explicit that the president cannot appoint a relative to any official government post, even if they forgo a salary.

“… it’s clear that anti-nepotism laws should have stricter penalties…

“…if nepotism is not seriously addressed, then Trump’s presidency would only serve as a blueprint for other corrupt business families to run for office to expand their wealth in the future.”  — The Boston Globe

READ | Part 3 – A sordid family affair of “Future-Proofing the Presidency” | The Editorial Board, The Boston Globe, June, 2021 | 6/1/2021