In a column last Sunday, I covered the vast financial corruption being perpetrated by the Trump administration.
This included allegations that Trump is essentially selling pardons to wealthy criminals, using presidential authority to broker deals between foreign nations and firms associated with the Trump family, and awarding government contracts to businesses that his family has invested in.
The scale of this financial corruption is brazen and without precedent, but with a Republican majority in both chambers of Congress, Democrats have been unable to properly investigate the alleged abuses.
That is something that Democrats are hoping will change in the coming November elections.
If Democrats Retake the House
According to Rep. Dave Min, D-Irvine, if Democrats retake the House in November, the plan is to issue subpoenas for documents and compel those associated with the corruption to testify under oath.
“If we get back the gavels next year, I expect that we will issue subpoenas to those individuals demanding, not just asking, demanding answers as to what happened with those pardons and how they got them,” Rep. Min told me.
According to Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Long Beach, they also plan on issuing subpoenas to members of the Trump family themselves.
Whether anything will come of these investigations is difficult to know.
Even if Congress finds concrete evidence of crimes, they must refer them to the Department of Justice, which is under Trump’s total control.
Instead, Democrats tell me that the strategy is to conduct thorough investigations, gather documents, and have those associated with the corruption to testify under oath, setting the stage for later prosecutions once Trump is out of office and there is a willing DOJ.
Impeaching Trump is also likely out of the question. “We’re not looking at impeachment as an end in itself,” Rep. Mike Levin, D-Carlsbad, told me. Even if the Democrats regain a majority in the House, it’s exceedingly unlikely that Democrats will secure the two-thirds vote in the Senate required to convict.
Will Anyone Be Held Accountable After Trump’s Term?
Holding anyone accountable even after Trump leaves office will be an uphill battle. In 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Trump v. United States that the president has near complete immunity. Many of his abuses, like the questionable pardons, have involved his use of core presidential powers, for which he will have absolute immunity – for most else, he will enjoy presumptive immunity.
Prosecuting anyone within the administration or associated with Trump’s corrupt dealings will also prove difficult. According to Wall Street Journal sources, Trump has promised mass preemptive pardons when members of his administration have voiced concern that they may face prosecution. Although past presidents have issued preemptive pardons, Biden set an awful precedent as the first president to grant preemptive pardons to members of his own administration and his family.
On how we may go about prosecuting Trump’s corrupt associates given that they will likely receive pardons, the congressmen I spoke to diverged.
Rep. Garcia appears to be pessimistic about charging anyone at the federal level, instead preferring to seek accountability via state charges, which would not be covered by presidential pardons.
On the other hand, Rep. Min was more optimistic about holding both Trump and his associates accountable at the federal level.
“In the language of the Constitution, bribery is listed as a high crime and misdemeanor. [The president] is not immune from bribery charges because bribery is mentioned in the actual Constitution itself … I think there’s a case to be made that they can, should, and will be prosecuted in the court of law when we take back the Department of Justice in a few years.”
Rep. Min also questioned whether Trump’s pardons would shield participants in the corruption from being charged with federal crimes.
“There is no reason to think that preemptive pardons should be valid … There’s nothing in the Constitution to suggest that they should be binding. So if Donald Trump decides that he wants to pardon a bunch of people who’ve committed crimes for things they haven’t been accused of yet, we’re going to make the case that those pardons are not binding.”
Even if Min is correct in his legal analysis, this Supreme Court’s rulings expanding presidential powers suggest that they would not be open to ruling that preemptive pardons are not within the president’s powers.
Preventing This From Happening Again
Setting aside the possibility of securing accountability, Congress will face the task of preventing future administrations from engaging in such corruption.
According to Rep. Levin, Democrats are preparing a suite of legislation to address several of the modes of corruption used by the Trump administration.
“We have a portfolio of legislation, the stock trading ban, stronger ethics laws, stronger disclosure laws, enforceable emoluments is another big thing. There’s the Protecting Our Democracy Act that [Rep.] Raskin has been working on. [Senator] Schiff has been working on the Senate version,” said Rep. Levin.
The Protecting Our Democracy Act involves restricting emoluments (monetary or material gifts), the pardon power, Congressional oversight over the president’s emergency declaration powers, and creating an inspector general for the president.
I hate to continue to rain on the Democrats’ hopes, but none of these reforms will do much to address the fundamental reason that this corruption was possible: it was allowed to happen by Congress and the Supreme Court.
If the president’s party has a majority in both chambers of Congress and their party is willing to look the other way – just as we have now – these reforms will not be enforced. An inspector general can write up as many reports as they want but if Congress is unwilling to react accordingly, they are of absolutely no use.
The Party That Abandoned Their Duty
I asked our members of Congress what it’s like working with their Republican colleagues who have turned a blind eye to the most corrupt administration in American history.
“I have nothing but contempt for Mike Johnson,” said Rep. Min. “I think he is the most feckless, weak-willed, morally bankrupt person that’s ever held that office in Congress … As far as other Republicans, a lot of them are just running scared right now … When you oppose Donald Trump and he calls you out, these people get death threats, their staff and family get death threats. It’s a tough situation to be in right now.”
“Yeah, I think they’re scared of a couple things,” said Rep. Levin. “I remember I had a conversation with a former colleague and we were watching the TV one morning in the House gym in Rayburn, the basement of the Rayburn House office building. And Trump was saying something ridiculous … This Republican colleague of mine said, ‘That’s ridiculous. That’s crazy.’ And I said, well, why don’t you say so? … And he said, look brother, I’m one Tweet away from losing my job. And unfortunately, that person eventually did lose their job. They were primaried by someone more MAGA. They did lose their primary, but even worse, they didn’t speak up and they still lost.”
It’s Up to Americans
Ultimately, holding anyone accountable, let alone President Trump, seems farfetched. Preventing this from happening again by statute is unpromising when enforcement relies on political will where there is none – but what is the alternative? Perhaps only hoping that the American public will avoid electing someone like Trump again.
We may be able to reform the Supreme Court, institute enforcement mechanisms for appropriations, stock trading bans, and others, but democracy will always be susceptible to infiltration by the worst among us unless Americans vote to turn them away.
Rafael Perez is a columnist for the Southern California News Group. You can reach him at rafaelperezocregister@gmail.com.