Trump Agrees To Obey Most Ethics Laws
President Donald Trump heroically accepted Monday that approximately 80% of federal ethics laws may apply to him, establishing a bipartisan national standard under which presidents must obey nearly four-fifths of the rules governing ordinary Americans. The concession could revive the Clarity Act ahead of a pivotal Senate vote on cryptocurrency regulation by giving state attorneys general an enforcement role and requiring public officials with significant interests in crypto issuers to divest or use blind trusts, an extreme procedure formerly known as not personally profiting from laws one writes and enforces.
Trump’s compromise was considered especially selfless after his financial disclosures reported more than $1.4 billion in crypto-related income last year. Previous presidents generally avoided building large financial stakes in industries subject to their administration’s decisions, thereby depriving the public of valuable firsthand demonstrations of corruption risk. Trump instead entered the market enthusiastically, allowing voters to observe every potential conflict of interest at full scale and tremendous personal profit. “I’m giving up more ethics than any president has ever given up, probably in history,” Trump said. “They demanded one hundred percent, which is radical and frankly very unfair, but I offered eighty percent, a beautiful number, and nobody knew ethics could go that high.”
Senators Thom Tillis and Ruben Gallego sought tougher safeguards, citing the antiquated theory that a law should remain enforceable even when the person affected controls the executive branch responsible for enforcing it. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, the bill’s lead author, argued that rejecting the measure would amount to rejecting restrictions on politicians’ cryptocurrency investments, leaving lawmakers with the familiar choice between a partial ethics rule and the complete absence of one. Negotiators celebrated the breakthrough by debating whether “significant financial interest” means $10, $10 million or simply enough money for a president to notice it without assistance. Congress then prepared to recognize 80% compliance as full compliance, confirming that the republic now operates at 80% ethical capacity.
* None of the quotes in this article were spoken by an actual person. More info.