Corruption is corrosive to our democracy. When leaders abuse their power to benefit themselves and their political allies instead of the people they are elected to serve, people lose faith in the democratic process.
This is why strong, well-enforced legal guardrails are needed to prevent corruption.
Unfortunately, the Trump administration has moved swiftly to scale back, reverse or fully dismantle these guardrails, undermining laws, agencies, and programs that protect Americans against corruption, abuses of power and foreign influence in our elections and government.
Campaign Legal Center’s latest research shows how the Trump administration's actions have unraveled important safeguards, leaving our democracy more vulnerable to future corruption and malfeasance.
Ending the Enforcement of Ethics and Campaign Finance Laws
Within weeks of taking office, President Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) moved to drop ongoing investigations and prosecutions involving serious violations of campaign finance and ethics laws.
For example, New York City Mayor Eric Adams was indicted in September 2024 by a federal grand jury for, among other things, unlawfully soliciting or accepting political contributions from foreign nationals. However, the DOJ moved to dismiss the case.
The decision to drop the charges against Adams — apparently in exchange for his cooperation with the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in New York City — signals that the Trump administration doesn’t believe these laws are important enough to be enforced.
Additionally, this sends a message that lawbreaking will be overlooked for political loyalists.
Dismantling Anti-Corruption and Foreign Influence Protections
The Trump administration has moved to end monitoring and enforcement efforts that are vital to combating corruption and protecting our elections and government from foreign influence.
On her first day in office, Attorney General Pam Bondi disbanded the Foreign Influence Task Force, an FBI team formed during President Trump’s first term in office to combat foreign interference in elections from countries like Russia and China. Attorney General Bondi also disbanded DOJ groups tasked with seizing the assets of Russian oligarchs.
In addition, by dramatically scaling back enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), foreign lobbyist reporting requirements, and rules requiring the disclosure of shell companies’ beneficial owners, the Trump administration has left us far more susceptible to hostile foreign influence.
Firing Officials Who Monitor and Enforce Ethics Laws
The Trump administration has curtailed oversight and the enforcement of ethics laws across the government by eliminating employees tasked with holding officials accountable for ethics violations.
Inspectors general (IGs) protect the public and safeguard taxpayer funds by investigating potential violations of ethics and conflict of interest laws.
Nevertheless, upon taking office, President Trump fired IGs across 17 different federal agencies.
In addition to firing IGs, he also fired the director of the Office of Government Ethics (OGE). The OGE works to prevent conflicts of interest in government and provides transparency regarding officials’ financial holdings.
The Trump administration’s moves to weaken the enforcement of ethics laws across the government leaves Americans vulnerable to abuses of power.
What Can be Done to Protect Anti-Corruption Guardrails?
The Trump administration’s actions have thrown open the door to widespread corruption.
It’s important to be aware of these actions, and Campaign Legal Center (CLC) is actively working to challenge them to defend the integrity of our political process.
CLC highlights many of these dangerous actions, some of which we have challenged in court to ensure that our government remains responsive and accountable to the people it is intended to serve.
This is why we have:
- Sounded the alarm on Trump’s illegal firing of inspectors general.
- Sued Elon Musk and DOGE to prevent an illegal power grab from the president’s wealthiest donor.
- Filed a complaint demanding that the FEC hold Eric Adams accountable.
- Continued to call for federal legislation that will strengthen campaign finance and ethics laws and enforcement.
With your support, CLC can continue to root out corruption, so the government works for the American people.
