Freedom from Corruption

            The liberty principle for this Freedom Friday is the fact that the U.S. government must be free of corruption in order for Americans to be truly free. As long as elected and appointed federal leaders can become rich while serving in Congress and other governmental posts, there will be corruption in government.

            One way to stop corruption in Congress is to pass a constitutional amendment to limit the number of terms of office than any person can serve. As yet, Congress has done nothing about limiting their terms of office, but there is a movement in the land to bring an amendment to their attention. Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to “drain the swamp” and get rid of the corruption in Washington, D.C. He appears to be giving his best effort, but the swamp creatures are fighting back. They recognize that Trump poses a danger to their continued feasting at the government trough, and they started to fight against Trump even before he became president.

            President Trump heard reports on Sunday that detailed how an FBI “informant” made multiple contacts with members of his campaign. Trump immediately demanded an investigation and said that he would make a formal order on Monday. 

            On Monday President Trump met with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray. He asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to determine if Trump’s campaign was surveilled for political purposes and the source of the order. Here is the statement from White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders.

Based on the meeting with the president, the Department of Justice has asked the Inspector General to expand its current investigation to include any irregularities with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s or the Department of Justice’s tactics concerning the Trump Campaign.

            Trump, Rosenstein, and Wray agreed that White House Chief of Staff John Kelly should “immediately set up a meeting with the FBI, DOJ, and DNI together with congressional leaders to review highly classified and other information they have requested.” The DOJ sent the order to the inspector general within hours.

            We can hope that the inspector general is not tainted – and does not get killed – as he goes forward with his investigation. We can also hope that the investigation brings out the truth. It would also be helpful if the information that was requested by the overseeing committee in Congress would be forthcoming from the DOJ.