"Commonweal," America's Premier Catholic Magazine (Owned And Edited By Catholic Lay People): "A Presidential Smash And Grab - The Most Corrupt President In U.S. History" (By Multiple Orders Of Magnitude)

 

Excerpt:  “Trump is not only the most corrupt U.S. president,” the Editors declare. “He is more corrupt than all other corrupt presidents, including Richard Nixon, by orders of magnitude.”

A Presidential Smash and Grab The most corrupt president in U.S. history A few hours after the Trump administration announced its $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” fund, members of the Justice Connection, a network of former Department of Justice (DOJ) officials, projected onto the DOJ building a quote from John Adams, a Founding Father and the second president of the United States. “A government of laws, not of men,” read the message, which was cast across a banner of Donald Trump. Few would confuse the current president with John Adams. John Gotti, the former head of New York City’s Gambino crime family, is a more apt point of comparison. Since returning to the White House, Trump has brazenly engaged in obvious and outrageous abuses of presidential power—from accepting a $400 million plane from Qatar to issuing pardons and commutations for dozens of white-collar criminals who made large donations to his campaign.  But this shameless venality, the Editors write in the June editorial, pales in comparison with the fund, which was created to compensate Trump loyalists who claim to have been wronged by the Biden Justice Department, including those who attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Money from the new fund is to be doled out to the victims of Democratic “weaponization” by a panel whose five members will serve at the pleasure of the president. In an even more outrageous abuse of presidential power, Trump’s acting attorney general and former criminal defense lawyer inserted an addendum into the deal giving Trump, his family, and his businesses immunity from all future prosecution for tax violations—which is potentially more valuable to Trump than any direct payment from his new slush fund. “Trump is not only the most corrupt U.S. president,” the Editors declare. “He is more corrupt than all other corrupt presidents, including Richard Nixon, by orders of magnitude.” Read “A Presidential Smash and Grab” here. *** Commonweal welcomes letters to the editor. Letters can respond to both print and online articles, and should include your name, city, and state. Please send your submissions to letters@commonwealmagazine.org. The Week at Commonweal  Donald Trump’s 1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” is an obvious and outrageous abuse of presidential power. And:   The books we keep represent the best of us. Expected to be an intimate and reflective affair, this year’s Venice Biennale instead turned into “a politically clamorous” event. From the Of This World podcast—a conversation with journalist Elise Ann Allen about covering Pope Leo XIV, from Peru to the Vatican This Week’s Most Popular Pieces Heidi Schlumpf on Stephen Colbert Bryn Stole on Ian Buruma on Berlin during World War II Anthony Domestico on twentieth-century British artists and their mad rush to Rome Matt McManus on a history of the ‘cultural Marxism conspiracy’ Roosevelt Montás on reading, print culture & liberal democracy What We’re Reading Elsewhere The cases of Elizabeth Holmes and Sam Bankman-Fried at least offered a pleasant sense of comeuppance. But in Musk v. Altman, a case designed to make everyone involved look heinous, to “root against Tweedledum was effectively to root for Tweedledee.”  College education does little to develop in students the sense that what we do resonates with people beyond ourselves. Can a cattle ranch? “One way to understand Deep Springs is as a place that has recreated the pre-modern household. Its community members can’t help seeing their labor as a part of what sustains the college and common life in the valley.” An interview with Archbishop Ronald Hicks about polarization, parish closures, and tensions between Catholic teaching and contemporary politics: “Everyone knows that we need to look at some significant immigration reform and have good laws and continue to strive for that. At the same time, when we're doing that, how do we see people? How do we treat people? Where is human dignity?" On virtue signaling—the newest online diagnosis of why other people do the things they do: “Where we once signaled we were good, now we signal that we are virtuous.”  Like what you’re reading? Sign up for more newsletters from Commonweal! Podcast: A behind-the-scenes look at the latest from The Commonweal Podcast Commonweal Critics: A monthly newsletter featuring Commonweal’s arts and culture coverage The Stacks: Selections from the Commonweal archive, delivered once a month Issue Discussion Guide: Read and discuss each month’s must-read article To access more newsletters, follow the link to update your preferences. Commonweal depends on its supporters to bring you independent, lay-led journalism. Click here to make a donation today!