Quid Pro Quo Is the Only Law That Matters
Donald Trump's corruption-first economic agenda is thriving—if you're rich.
President Donald Trump, once convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records, announced on Wednesday that he planned to pardon Democratic Representative Henry Cuellar of Texas, who is awaiting trial for allegedly accepting over $600,000 worth of bribes while in office. Donald Trump pardoning white collar criminals is nothing new, but this is one of the first times that this practice has now been extended to a member of the opposing political party — all because Cuellar spoke out against the former Biden administration’s immigration policies.
We all know the government is corrupt. There are several apps online that let you track and mirror the stock trading practices of members of Congress, like former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who out-earned every private hedge fund in 2024. Politicians receive huge campaign contributions through a shadowy network of dark money, slide into lucrative private sector jobs as soon as they leave office, and generally use their elected power to systematically enrich themselves in a myriad of other ways. Before Donald Trump, most of these ways were quiet, or complicated enough that they were difficult for ordinary people with jobs to fully grasp, or simply legal. But under Trump things are simple, clear, and concise. If you do what the president wants, you will be rewarded with money and status.
