Justice Clarence Thomas Senator Bob Menendez
The United States has faced various challenges upon its birth in 1789, but from things like economic depressions to taxes, perhaps there is no issue as terrible as corruption within the government. Since the establishment of the United States’s government, we have seen evidence throughout history that suggests our government has not been as ethical as it projects itself to be. Corruption, like many other complex issues, is a wide and expansive subject in American politics. From our local government to the highest office, there have been little to no public servants who have been immune to the temptation of back-door-deals with benefits. Between companies and businesses bribing elected officials of government and wealthy individuals empowering political machines for their self gain and benefit, where does it end?
Background
Corruption takes place whenever a group of individuals sees an opportunity for advantage. The temptation that comes from gaining for self benefit becomes taunting when you believe you will face no repercussions for it. Whether it's money or objects of value, we must question what causes our elected officials to fall within this plague. In today’s age, we hear the term “Deep State”, which refers to a group of people who usually participate in manipulation when it comes to government work, within all forms of politics. Many of the public servants that we elect into government positions are tempted to engage in this form of unethical behavior. Whether it's a Supreme Court Judge or United States Senator, such actions are harmful to the public trust that we, as citizens, place within our own government. People hear about these types of things and talk about it but, oftentimes, we aren't doing much to change anything about what goes on and we allow it to continue occuring. It's important to increase awareness about the challenge that corruption poses within our government.
As of 2024, the awareness towards political corruption has been less than ever before, but it is important to recognize just what it does to us as a nation. Upon the establishment of the country, our government was always intended to serve its citizens with integrity and honesty. Transparency was essential for continued public trust but whenever elected officials commit actions that go against those of ethical behavior and their own constituents, they violate the public trust placed upon them. Corruption is a problem that, as citizens, we must aim to address. Healing this issue will create amore reliable and trustworthy government. Corruption also undermines the whole idea of government to its people. If it were to continue overtime, the citizens of this nation will begin to question whether or not they truly have a voice and any power in how their country moves forward.
Current Situations
In the twenty-first century, perhaps some of the most known occurences of corruption have been between supreme court judges and rich individuals looking for a little special treatment with government officials. An example of such is Justice Clarence Thomas who had preiously been caught accepting luxury gifts from a private individual. Back in 2019, Justice Thomas and his wife went on a vacation which included a private jet and insanely large yacht. The vacation itself was not the problem, the problem was how the vacation came to be in the first place. As it turned out, this vacation was funded by Republican mega donor Harlan Crow. Justice Thomas had a salary of $268,000 thousand dollars as a judge, but this particular vacation was already expected to surpass over $500,000 dollars and no amount of savings was covering that without some debt. Overtime, it would later be discovered that Justice Thomas Clarence was accepting “luxury gifts” every year from Crow and others without properly disclosing them. These actions were to be regarded, by the citizens, as a form of unreal forgetfullness of the ethical behavior that higher government officials should have been endorsing.
A more recent example is Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey who was found guilty of various corruption charges. Menendez was originally investigated for these charges in the year of 2015, however, it would be in 2024 that the Senator would officially be found guilty. Records show that Senator Menendez and his wife accepted bribes from 2018-2022. These bribes consisted of “gold cash, a luxury convertible, payments towards Mrs. Menendez home mortgage, home furnishing, and additional things of value." During a search by the FBI at the home of the Menendez couple, all of this evidence was uncovered. In addition to that, over $480,000 in cash was found around the residence which would not have raised suspicion if it were not for much of it being “stuffed in envelopes and hidden from plain sight". As the investigation went on, it was concluded that the Senator of New Jersey, alongside his wife, were guilty of taking bribes in exchange for actions that benefited the government of Egypt. At the time, these actions were disrupting the prosecution case of one of the donor’s associates, URIBE, alongside an employee of his.
What We Must Do
As citizens of the United States of America, we play a role in ensuring the smooth operation of our government. All elected officials are appointed by the people themselves so we are the ones that put them into the office in the first place. It should be our responsibility to ensure our voted representatives remain reliable and trustworthy.
To deal with exisiting corruption, we must look for ways in which we reduce the power of these special interests and wealthy companies over our public servants. Whether that is boycotting companies who go over our own needs with politicians, or simply becoming an engaged citizen. If we become more engaged and aware of what our public servants do, they'll start to feel the pressure and consequences that their actions may have. Not only through these actions, but through voting as well. Young citizens serve as the majority nowadays meaning with enough people voting, we are able to overpower what we might have originally thought was a large crowd to beat. Through voting, we demonstrate the use of our constitutional power and we become able to shape our government. Together, buy performing any of these actions, we are able to change the ways of others and improve the country that we live in for the better.
Resouces
Kaplan, Joshua, et al. “Clarence Thomas Secretly Accepted Luxury Trips from GOP Donor.” ProPublica, 6 Apr. 2023, www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-scotus-undisclosed-luxury-travel-gifts-crow
Schladen, Marty. “U.S. Supreme Court Justices Take Lavish Gifts - Then Raise the Bar for Bribery Prosecutions • Ohio Capital Journal.” Ohio Capital Journal, 27 Apr. 2023, ohiocapitaljournal.com/2023/04/26/u-s-supreme-court-justices-take-lavish-gifts-then-raise-the-bar-for-bribery-prosecutions/
Release, Press. “U.S. Senator Robert Menendez, His Wife, and Three New Jersey Businessmen Charged with Bribery Offenses.” Southern District of New York | U.S. Senator Robert Menendez, His Wife, And Three New Jersey Businessmen Charged With Bribery Offenses | United States Department of Justice, 22 Sept. 2023, www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/us-senator-robert-menendez-his-wife-and-three-new-jersey-businessmen-charged-bribery.
Wikipedia. “Bob Menendez.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 23 July 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Menendez#Corruption_charges_and_conviction.