Peter Stone
A radical makeover at the US department of justice has seen key drives to fight corruption hamstrung in ways that could benefit US businesses operating abroad and foreign kleptocrats, including some Russian oligarchs.
The moves have sparked sharp criticism by former US prosecutors, transparency experts and top Democrats, who warn that the moves to cut back on anti-corruption efforts is a huge setback for American efforts to clean up global business practices and tackle the power of oligarchs and of authoritarian rulers.
Donald Trump’s US attorney general Pam Bondi – long an ally of the president – has moved fast to halt enforcement actions for six months under the 1977 Foreign Corrupt Practices Act that bars bribes by US businesses to win overseas deals, which some American firms have long charged gives certain foreign firms a competitive edge.
Trump sounded bullish while signing an executive order in February to halt the department’s FCPA investigations for six months to review policy guidelines. “It’s going to mean a lot more business for America,” Trump boasted, to the dismay of critics.
In another fast foreign shift at the DoJ, a Bondi memo last month indicated that two units aimed at fighting kleptocracy – including some major Russian oligarchs – were being disbanded with some lawyers redeployed to focus on new priorities involving fighting drug cartels and transnational crime.
Donald Trump has not treated Greenlanders with respect since expressing his renewed interest in acquiring the vast, mineral-rich Arctic island, Greenland’s prime minister was quoted on Monday as saying.
Trump reiterated his interest in acquiring the island during his address to Congress last Tuesday, painting a picture of prosperity and safety for the “incredible people” of Greenland, an autonomous territory of the kingdom of Denmark, Reuters reported.
Trump reaffirmed that message in a Truth Social post early on Monday, writing: “We will continue to keep you safe, as we have since World War II. We are ready to invest billions of dollars to create new jobs and make you rich.”
Greenland’s prime minister, Mute Egede, told Danish public broadcaster DR in an interview aired on Monday: “We deserve to be treated with respect, and I don’t think the US president has done that recently since he took office.”
“I think that the recent things the American president has been doing means that people don’t want to get as close to (the US) as they might have wanted in the past,” he added.
“We need to draw a line in the sand and put more effort into (cultivating relations with) the countries that show us respect for the future we want to build,” said Egede, in comments aired a day before Greenland holds a general election.
Egede has repeatedly said that Greenland, whose population is only 57,000, belongs to its people and that it should decide on its own future. He supports full independence for Greenland.