A Quote by James Comey
Public corruption is the FBI's top criminal priority. The threat - which involves the corruption of local, state, and federally elected, appointed, or contracted officials - strikes at the heart of government, eroding public confidence and undermining the strength of our democracy.
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Corruption is uniquely reprehensible in a democracy because it violates the system's first principle, which we all learned back in the sunshiny days of elementary school: that the government exist to serve the public, not particular companies or individuals or even elected officials.
Fighting public corruption is essential to preserving a working democracy that people have confidence in. I said that time and again on the campaign trail, and that's why it's such a high priority for me.
The real cost of corruption in government, whether it is local, state, or federal, is a loss of the public trust.
What I see in Washington reminds me of what I saw in Montgomery when I was first elected Alabama's Attorney General. In Montgomery, corruption was the problem, so I assembled the finest public corruption prosecution team in the country. Their work wasn't always popular with the mainstream media or the local politicians. We didn't let that stop us.
Throughout my career, I have made rooting out public corruption a top priority.
Unfortunately, corruption is widespread in government agencies and public enterprises. Our political system promotes nepotism and wasting money. This has undermined our legal system and confidence in the functioning of the state. One of the consequences is that many citizens don't pay their taxes.
It will be interesting to see if they accept the idea that not only actual corruption in politics needs to be addressed, but the appearance of corruption as well, ensuring public confidence and all that.
I am calling upon all of you to come out and fight corruption and agree to support the government in fighting corruption as our first priority.
Corruption in state-owned enterprises and other public institutions has undermined our government's programs to address poverty and unemployment.
Corruption is when people in public office use that public office for private or selfish ends. This is one of the most central debates in the last 40 years in law, what is corruption.
I am big supporter of the idea of a global anti-corruption movement - but one that begins by recognizing that the architecture of corruption is different in different countries. The corruption we suffer is not the same as the corruption that debilitates Africa. But it is both corruption, and both need to be eliminated if the faith in democracy is not going to be destroyed.
I have absolutely no idea what my generation did to enrich our democracy. We dropped the ball. We entered a period of complacency and closed our eyes to the public corruption of our democracy.
When you fight corruption, corruption strikes back and that is the truth because when you fight corruption, you get confidence and when it gets to impunity, then it gets aggressive and says, 'oh, so you think you are different? You think you are tough and different?' This is why some of us are almost permanently in the libel court.
To restore and keep the public's confidence in the integrity of their government, state government and its officials must be open, honest and transparent.
The public wants elected officials who have character. The public wants elected officials who are willing to stand up and say things, even if they don't agree with them.
I'm going to go after crime and corruption wherever it is. But I did focus particularly on the need to restore public confidence in essential institutions of both the public and private sector.
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