[By Guancha Observer Network, Shao Yun]

The American President Trump, who often accuses the establishment of "corruption," is now embroiled in a corruption scandal due to his family business's blatant connections with Gulf countries. Even ardent MAGA supporters find it hard to defend him over the issue of accepting a $400 million private jet "gift" from Qatar. However, for both major American political parties, corruption is nothing new. A recent guest commentary article in The New York Times reminded readers that the roots of "American-style corruption" can be traced back long before Trump's presidency.

"Trump is not the first politician to treat public office as a business," Casey Michel, an investigative journalist and author of "Foreign Agents: How America’s PR Industry Threatens Global Democracy," wrote in an article titled "He Was Not the First" published on The New York Times' website on the 18th. Although people should be angry at Trump and his family members' actions, the public should not forget that "Trump's administration engaged in disgraceful quid pro quo deals with foreign benefactors" and "Trump was not an anomaly appearing out of nowhere in American politics."

Michel agrees that Trump seems to have single-handedly replaced events like the Teapot Dome Scandal (in the 1920s, then Secretary of the Interior Fall secretly leased U.S. Navy oil fields to oil companies at low prices in exchange for bribes) as the symbol of presidential corruption.

From Donald Trump Jr. and others setting up so-called "administrative branch" clubs, where a donation of $500,000 guarantees direct access to the government; to Eric Trump founding World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency company, and signing a $2 billion deal with MGX, a fund backed by the UAE royal family; to millions of dollars in foreign regime investments orchestrated by Kushner, Trump's son-in-law... The article bluntly states that the entire Trump family is doing everything possible to profit from the "return of Trump."

On May 14, 2025, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Trump bids farewell to Crown Prince Mohammed and prepares to head to Qatar. Visual China

However, Michel points out that Trump and his family are merely following the long-standing behavior of previous administrations and officials who ignored how foreign regimes and oligarchs manipulate and fund American politics. He noted that just months ago, former President Biden issued a full pardon to his son Hunter as his term was coming to an end, absolving him of all charges he may or may not have committed over the past decade. Hunter had been doing business globally under the "Biden" name during his father's tenure as Vice President.

"Clearly, Hunter Biden lobbied U.S. officials to help at least one foreign client—this clearly violates U.S. foreign lobbying regulations—but he faced no legal consequences, mocking his father's campaign promise to crack down on such practices. Why should Trump's children act any differently?" the article reads.

Michele, who has been tracking lobbying groups, introduced that until recently, the "most popular link" used by foreign governments to influence American political leaders was the Clinton Foundation established by former Democratic President Clinton. According to Michele, over the years, the Clinton Foundation has accepted millions of dollars from Saudi Arabia, the Qatari government, and oligarchs from Russia, Kazakhstan, and other countries.

Were these donors truly motivated by the simple belief promised by the Clinton Foundation—"everyone should have the opportunity to succeed"? In theory, perhaps yes, but the article points out that it's hard to explain why, by the early 2020s, when Hillary Clinton was no longer active in American politics, the donations to the foundation plummeted by 90% compared to its peak when she was Secretary of State or a presidential candidate.

The article mentions that renowned anti-corruption expert Sarah Chayes asserted in her book in 2020 that the Clinton Foundation was far from a harmless nonprofit organization, but rather resembled "charitable" institutions run by ruling families criticized by the U.S. government for corruption, being their "American version."

Michel further pointed out that this phenomenon is almost not limited to any particular party or department in the United States, nor exclusive to political elites. "Look around Washington, and you'll find many other institutions and organizations amassing vast fortunes. Think tanks rake in tens of millions of dollars from corrupt countries. Universities accept billions of dollars. Politicians on both sides of the aisle leave office year after year and quickly become foreign lobbyists. As a report wrote nearly a decade ago, 'Want to become a "foreign agent"? Start by serving in Congress.'"

In the final part of the article, Michel urged the U.S. Congress to expand legislation on limiting the flow of benefits to high-ranking government officials' families. "Not only should future presidents' children and sons-in-law be prohibited from becoming foreign agents, but they should also be completely banned from engaging in any new foreign investments or transactions." In his view, this might not completely eliminate the entanglement between high-level politicians and foreign benefactors, but at least it would increase the resistance. However, Michel himself seemed not optimistic about the near future. "But all of this is for the future," he wrote.

This is an exclusive article by the Guancha Observer Network and cannot be reprinted without permission.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7506802783631278630/

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