WHY is our justice system so weak that decades of corruption goes unpunished?

[lostnfound]

WHY has no one gone after Manafort until now? Building a career by installing corrupt and awful dictators ought to have broken some law.

WHY did any banks trust Trump, a man with several business bankruptcies, or Kushner? Personal bankruptcies can make it hard for you to get a cell phone or a job

WHY are there no laws against having such an entangled proliferation of shell companies that fraud can be easily hidden? Does the IRS have not teeth when it comes to wealthy, supposedly powerful people?

WHY was there no oversight on Trump foundation finances?

WHY has the Russian mob beeen allowed to have a continuous presence known to the government for more than a decade?

Taxi medallions? Heck, in Chicago, I was told five years ago by a cab driver that the Russian mob really owned a lot of the cab business there.

I’ll say it again: you should not have to get elected president before the justice system goes to work.

[BSdetect]

1. The gop loves to hobble the IRS and other agencies.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

9. +1

This. Hell, we all saw what happened when the IRS started cracking down on 501C(?) non-profit "social welfare" groups and how they had to back off when they were accused of targeting Tea Party Groups (even though some groups targeted were progressive ones) at the behest of President Obama.

[kentuck]

2. Do you think our FBI needs strengthening?

Obviously, they were not strong enough to take out the Russian money launderers living in Trump Tower.

The Justice System has failed us.

[NewJeffCT]

3. I'm sure it's for several reasons

Not excusing the lack of enforcement:

1) White collar crime is usually not a priority with law enforcement - it's usually more complex and harder to understand than holding up a convenience store or stealing a car.
2) Trump has skirted around the laws throughout his life, but not many knew how serious and deep it was
3) The Trump organization is privately held by Trump and family, so they have different rules that they follow which are far less strict than for a public corporation that is traded on the stock market.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

8. Yes. Just read something similar. Resources and budgets

Got cut...and $$ shifted more toward security issues post 9-11

[lostnfound]

17. "White collar crime not a priority". That's what needs to change.

Our society rots when corruption goes unchecked. How can it be changed? Why is the lack of oversight or checks on white collar crime not an issue discussed in government? Maybe because politicians get bought off.

[NewJeffCT]

20. I also mentioned

that it's often more complex and harder to understand than your typical grand theft auto or knocking over a convenience store or selling heroin or meth. The people that can better uncover financial crimes earlier are often in the private sector - accountants, actuaries, computer analysts, etc, or working for the CIA, NSA, FBI, etc on combating terrorism and trying to counter Russia and others in the cyber fields.

[melm00se]

22. My father-in-law

was a forensic accountant for federal law enforcement.

His challenge was trying to explain the evidence to a jury. A lot of financial crimes are complex and subtle and stretched accountants' knowledge and experience to the limit to understand.

Now imagine taking it to a jury many of whom would struggle to balance their checkbooks.

[lostnfound]

23. That's a problem. Education in the "economics of the rich " might help future jurors and voters

And make them less gullible about Trump and other conmen.

[SHRED]

4. I wonder the same thing

[PatSeg]

5. I've been asking the same questions

I know that not every crime is uncovered and people do break the law and go unpunished, but this is insane. Decades of overt corruption slipping through the cracks? Sure doesn't give criminals any incentive to go straight.

Everything is so in-your-face as if defying anyone to do anything about it. The lawlessness is breathtaking at a time when our prisons are filled with nonviolent and often poor criminals.

Trump's long relationship with the Russian mob and oligarchs was pretty obvious. There were more than red flags, there were pulsating red sirens. Was no one in the justice department paying attention? With Trump's long history of corruption and shady dealings, you'd think he would be front and center in any Russian mob investigations.

Giving the FBI the benefit of the doubt, Trump may possibly have been a useful idiot for any ongoing Russian investigations they were conducting, until he was elected president.

[EffieBlack]

10. Law enforcement and the courts have ben begging for resources for decades, but have been caught

in the middle between the anti-government "not another nickel out of my pocket unless it's for prisons" crowd and those on the other side who have been over the years, usually for good reason, wary of law enforcement.

Although he's been a crook for years, I think law enforcement never went after Trump because they just didn't have the time and resources to jump through all the hoops and do the work necessary to untangle his jumble of criminality. And since most of his crimes didn't impose on the public - beyond his failure to pay small contractors, which wasn't necessarily a crime - his bad behavior was all "within the family" of other criminals. His tax evasion, of course, is another story and did have ramifications to the public, but the feds just can't go after every tax evader and trying to get through Trump's byzantine structure was probably not seen as worth it.

It's a sin and a shame, but it's the reality. And I don't think it's all attributable to any wrongdoing or corruption by the FBI or other law enforcement. It's just that the sea is so big and their boat is so small ...

[PatSeg]

11. Yes, I can see what you are saying

I just think that the Russian connections would have sparked more interest, though, like I said, perhaps Trump was a useful idiot as investigators were keeping an eye on Trump Tower and bigger fish who owned condos there. They surely could not imagine that Trump would end up in the White House.

I can also see the shortage of resources, though local law enforcement going after small, often harmless offenders are rewarded with an excess of resources and even military equipment. I am amazed at how many videos I've seen of six or more cops showing up for inconsequential events. I remember one where at least six officers "subdued", even kicked a man who was in a diabetic coma, because he would not follow directions. The handicapped, the elderly, children seem to warrant excessive force and manpower. It appears there is a terrible imbalance in law enforcement, but I suppose we credit private prisons for some of that.

Of course, then there are all the things behind the scenes that we don't know. Still it is frustrating.

[EffieBlack]

13. It IS frustrating, isn't it?

I'll bet there are some folks in law enforcement who wish they HAD gone after him sooner and likely spared the country this mess we're in. But hindsight is always 20-20.

[PatSeg]

15. Oh yes

A lot of "what if's" and "if only we" bouncing around I'm sure.

A part of me believes it was time for overwhelming change that we might not have seen without our current nightmare. The world is awaking from complacency and apathy. Historically, it comes in cycles, though this is not quite how I would have pictured it.

[PufPuf23]

6. The rot in our legal system runs deep; civil, criminal, and political.

Some privileged folks more so in the area of financial and power are Teflon.

Maybe it is just the human condition and things have always been this way?

[Ponietz]

7. While it is still a felony in NM to issue a $25 worthless check

I once had a client convicted for 11 worthless checks totaling about $600, all for groceries that she used to feed herself, her daughter, and her mother. She had a prior felony conviction for drug possession. She got 11 years in prison on the mandatory habitual offender time. I petitioned Governor Gary Johnson (what’s Aleppo?) for clemency as his term ended. Petition denied.

[link:https://law.justia.com/codes/new-mexico/2006/nmrc/jd_30-36-5-cc39.html|

[PatSeg]

12. This

Excellent example of how lopsided justice is in this country.

[Ponietz]

14. I should add--Susanna Martinez, our current Governor

was the 3rd Judicial District Attorney at the time. She made her legal career on persecuting poor people. It costs almost $50,000 per year to house an inmate. Its a racket that sickens me.
#CultureOfCorruption

[PatSeg]

16. 21st century slavery

Another disgusting result of unbridled greed.

[lostnfound]

18. That's crazy. Class warfare against the poor. Nt

[Vinca]

19. It's easier to go after the small fish who can't afford decent representation.

They can churn them through the system fast because they often plead guilty with a deal because they can't afford to fight. If this wasn't the case, Trump and his cronies would be in prison.

[smirkymonkey]

21. This! Exactly.

Sheer laziness and cowardice. They are afraid to go against the big money boys. Hoping they might be looked upon favorably someday.