With the US midterm elections less than three weeks away, is it any surprise that corruption has emerged as voters’ top concern? “Corrupt” was the adjective most often chosen when registered voters were asked for a single word to describe President Donald Trump, according to a survey conducted in September by The Economist and the market research firm YouGov, with 53 per cent of respondents calling Trump corrupt and only 23 per cent saying he is “honest.” A Pew Research Center poll in early October found that nearly seven in 10 (69 per cent) of Americans are “not confident” that Trump keeps his business interests separate from his presidential decisions.

Americans can thank diligent investigative reporting for alerting them to much of the self-dealing by Trump, his family, and aides. For example, The Washington Post has reported that Trump’s sons, Don Jr. and Eric, were investors in 15 companies that “collectively generated at least $3.2 billion in direct government business since the sons invested and an additional $3.1 billion in future contract options.” 

In a rare retreat, the White House asked Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign as US ambassador to Greece after a Wall Street Journal investigation revealed that Guilfoyle promised political favours to a Trump donor if he would quietly pay off her $100,000 American Express credit........

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