Hofstra Law professor James Sample examines President Donald Trump’s conduct that facilitates corruption, particularly the launch of a cryptocurrency scheme and the broader erosion of anti-corruption safeguards, including weakened bribery laws, de-prioritized enforcement of foreign influence regulations, and the dismissal of government watchdogs. Professor Sample argues that these actions, along with Supreme Court rulings limiting bribery prosecutions, have systemically undermined the rule of law, fostering an environment where public officials can engage in transactional governance that threatens democracy itself.
NYU law professor Samuel Estreicher and 3L Christopher S. Owens analyze, based on the facts presently known to the public, whether President Trump committed the federal crime of battery. After describing the elements required for the offense of bribery, Estreicher and Owens conclude that Trump’s conduct would support a finding of an exchange of official acts (by Trump) for things of value (the public statement sought from Zelensky), as well as the corrupt intent necessary to maintain a bribery charge.
