Corruption was a frequent and sometimes routine problem in the federal system almost from the start. And, for what it is worth, naked corruption is less now than in any time since the founding era of the country.
Naked corruption like selling million dollar contracts through a shell charity; or utilizing the full force of federal agencies to directly attack political foes; or refusing to enforce laws because they are inconvenient to political views or persons; or arming terrorists to attack a sovereign nation without a declaration of war under the auspices of defeating terrorists? Like forcing persons to purchase a product under compulsion of “law;” or invalidating the expressed will of the people without regard to Constitutional prohibition; like the seizure of property without legal recourse; like the passage of “regulations” without congressional review that carry the full weight of law and subject persons to loss of property and livelihood? Like the bribery on a scale unimaginable to any state under the guise of Federal aid—money stolen from citizens under threat of force? Oh, not that kind of corruption?
Some of us long for the petty corruption of state legislators...