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Corruption

Tuesday 24th of March 2026

Corruption The corrupt politician is he who brings into public service the traditions of a private career. Walter Lippmann, Drift and Mastery  © 2021 Kwiple.com
Corruption Don't you think a lot of these people would pay that when they can? I represented, I can't disclose who, I represented clients who paid substantially more than that. Rudy Giuliani, on Trump's $130,000 hush money payment to Stormy Daniels [It's unclear whether he's referring to payments made in his private practice or payments made as a representative of Greenberg Traurig, LLP, where he worked] © 2018 Kwiple.com
Corruption Every now and then,  an innocent man is sent to the legislature. Kin Hubbard © 2020 Kwiple.com
Corruption I mean, look, my wife is an entrepreneur herself. I love, she loves, we love Chick-fil-A as a franchise of faith. Scott Pruitt, explaining why he had an EPA employee contact a Chick-fil-A executive about a “business opportunity,” which turned out to be about getting his wife a Chick-fil-A franchise © 2018 Kwiple.com
Corruption I never thought $130,000 – I know this sounds funny  to people there at home – I never thought $130,000 was a real payment.  It's a nuissance payment. When I settle this – when it   was real or a real possibility – it's a couple million dollars, not – not $130,000. Rudy Giuliani, commenting on the hush money Trump paid to Stormy Daniels © 2018 Kwiple.com
Corruption If the accusations against Senator Robert Menendez are true — and it’s not looking good — old-fashioned bribery, payments to politicians in exchange for favors, hasn’t gone away.  But it’s probably not shaping party ideology.  Campaign contributions, on the other hand, definitely do shape ideology. Paul Krugman, New York Times, September 26, 2023 © 2023 Kwiple.com
Corruption If you offer money to a government to influence it, that is corruption. But if someone receives money for services rendered afterwards, that is a commission. Adnan Khashoggi, renowned international arms dealer © 2018 Kwiple.com
Corruption Is corruption less widespread in religious countries than in less religious ones? The answer is an unequivocal no—in fact  religious countries tend to be more corrupt than secular ones. … Religion may make people more punitive, but it does not make them less corrupt. This pattern also applies to other crimes, such as murder. As surprising as it may seem, the murder rate is more than ten times as high in the most religious countries as it is in the least religious countries. Ronald Inglehart, Foreign Affairs, September/October 2020 © 2020 Kwiple.com
Corruption The results of a survey released today by Transparency International show that compared to early 2016 more Americans now believe corruption is on the rise in the US and that the White House is the most corrupt of nine key institutions. Transparency International, December 12, 2017 © 2019 Kwiple.com
Corruption A rule-of-law state can withstand a certain amount of official corruption. What it cannot withstand is a culture of impunity. So long as officials believe that corruption will usually be detected – and if detected, then certainly punished – for just that long they will believe that corruption is wrong. It is for this reason that corrupt regimes swiftly evolve toward authoritarianism, and authoritarian regimes toward corruption. David Frum, Trumpocracy © 2019 Kwiple.com
Corruption  Third World leaders could not be bought; they could only be rented. Cold War adage of much wider applicabiity © 2022 Kwiple.com
Corruption The Trump administration spawned such abundant corruption, Bloomberg News launched an interactive guide to keep track if it, sortable by individuals and categories of scandal. Adam Jentleson, Kill Switch © 2021 Kwiple.com
 
Corruption You can't promote principled anticorruption action without pissing off corrupt people. George Kent © 2019 Kwiple.com