No. of Recommendations: 9
Trump has ordered the Justice Department to stop enforcing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act for the next six months and instructed prosecutors to refrain from bringing FCPA cases.
Trump’s order raises several questions.
First, can a president simply order that a law passed by Congress and enacted by a former president not be enforced, even for six months? That’s tantamount to repealing a law. Trump has no qualms about doing this, but it rides roughshod over Congress and the separation of powers that’s a keystone of our Constitution.
It’s not clear that the FCPA under Trump will ever be enforced. After all, killing it off was one of Trump’s priorities in his first term. “I need you to get rid of that law,” Trump told Rex Tillerson, his first secretary of state and a former oil executive. But Tillerson knew better. He played a major part in stopping Trump’s idea. But now Trump is surrounded by lackeys who will do his illegal bidding.
Just a snippet.
Robert Reich
