Corruption is what other people do

The Biden administration has embarked on a global anti-corruption campaign. It should start with Washington….

Through a directive issued last week, President Biden has given his national-security, intelligence, and law-enforcement teams 200 days to make recommendations on how to stem corruption at home and abroad. “Fighting corruption is not just good governance,” Biden said in a statement. “It is self-defense. It is patriotism, and it’s essential to the preservation of our democracy and our future.”

One place where these corruption-fighting agencies are unlikely to look: among Biden’s own team…

The Biden administration doesn’t seem to grasp that its shadow lobbying undermines global anti-corruption efforts. Business partners of Biden’s top diplomat, Secretary of State Tony Blinken, continue to snag powerful roles in the administration. The most recent example is Dan Shapiro, who is under consideration to be Middle East envoy. Shapiro served as Obama’s ambassador to Israel. He has since worked in Israel as a consultant for the boutique firm WestExec Advisors, which Blinken co-founded before joining the Biden administration as secretary of state. Shapiro would be the 12th consultant from Blinken’s small advisory to take on a senior position in the administration.

It would be rude in Washington to say that these entanglements constitute corruption.