# What prevents corruption investigations of inexplicably wealthy politicians? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [December 28, 2022, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-prevents-corruption-investigations-of-inexplicably-wealthy-politicians/977214 "2022-12-28T11:08:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2022, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-prevents-corruption-investigations-of-inexplicably-wealthy-politicians/977214/1 "2022-12-28T11:08:00Z")
Not so much about George Santos and the $700 G he loaned to his campaign after having very little money in 2020 and no source of revenue since then, although that did trigger my question: when politicians of modest means become wealthy after entering politics (and receiving at most a modest government salary) why doesn’t this lead authorities to investigate? The best example I can think of was LBJ, who was dirt-poor and who married poor, but he and Lady Bird ended up owning a business empire (radio stations, I believe) after having no source of income other than his salary as a Congressman. Naively I would suppose this wouldn’t ever happen because LBJ and others have no plausible explanation to answer investigators’ inquiries. “What’s the source of the funds you purchased this radio station with, Congressman?” “Homina homina homina…” But the question never seems to have been asked. I would imagine this was so obviously a source of corruption that authorities would view it as a gift from God, but they seem to regard all such inquiries as poison, avoiding them wherever possible and wherever avoidance is impossible. Why doesn’t sudden wealth, as reported in publicly available sources, get investigators interested in investigating? Seems like low-hanging fruit to me. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2022, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-prevents-corruption-investigations-of-inexplicably-wealthy-politicians/977214/2 "2022-12-28T11:27:22Z")
Because this is the game, and that is how the game is played. The very nature of American capitalism is using the power of government to change rules and regulations by which to divert public funds into your private pocket. You need politicians to do this, and the politicians aren’t going to do it for free. George’s problem isn’t what he did, it’s how sloppy by which he did it. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2022, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-prevents-corruption-investigations-of-inexplicably-wealthy-politicians/977214/3 "2022-12-28T11:31:42Z")
Pretty sure there isn’t a factual answer to this question, btw… ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2022, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-prevents-corruption-investigations-of-inexplicably-wealthy-politicians/977214/4 "2022-12-28T11:50:33Z")
> [@slicedalone](#): > > The best example I can think of was LBJ, who was dirt-poor and who married poor, but he and Lady Bird ended up owning a business empire (radio stations, I believe) after having no source of income other than his salary as a Congressman. Claudia “Lady Bird” Johnson came from wealth. Her father, Thomas Jefferson Taylor, was a successful businessman, and was the source of her money. > [@](#): > > He moved to Texas in the mid-1890s and opened a store in Karnack, Harrison County. In 1900 he married Minnie Lee Patillo of Alabama; they had two sons and a daughter, [Claudia Alta](https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fjocd), who married [Lyndon Baines Johnson](https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fjo19). Sometime before 1912 Taylor purchased the Andrews Plantation house, an imposing two-story brick residence now known as the Lady Bird Johnson Home. Taylor amassed considerable wealth by using the profits from his store and other business ventures to advance money to needy farmers at ten percent and by investing heavily in real estate. Very much a typical successful rural entrepreneur of his times, he was called “Cap’n Taylor” by his business associates and “Mister Boss” by black sharecroppers; he was probably the largest landowner in Harrison County by the 1930s. In 1934 Taylor donated to the state about two-thirds of the land (some 385 acres) composing [Caddo Lake State Park](https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/gkc02). He was one of his son-in-law’s principal financial backers in his first race for Congress in 1937. At one time Taylor owned the land on which the Longhorn Ordnance Works (later the [Longhorn Army Ammunition Plant](https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/dml03)) was constructed during [World War II](https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/npwnj). > **[Taylor, Thomas Jefferson II](https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/taylor-thomas-jefferson-ii)** > > The Handbook of Texas is your number one authoritative source for Texas history. Read this entry and thousands more like it on our site. Now, that’s not to say that LBJ didn’t use political power to make him and his wife very rich - he greased the skids so she could qualify to buy a radio station, then used his influence to increase its range and accessibility - but it would seem that the initial investment came from an inheritance. Something similar happened with Justice Kavanaugh. Although it was convenient that large debts were suddenly satisfied right before he was to be considered for the high court, the reality was that his very wealthy parents just gave him money. > [@](#): > > Kavanaugh’s family had deep pockets. He’s the only child of a “swamp creature,” Ed Kavanaugh, a longtime lobbyist for the cosmetics industry who spent his career schmoozing with Beltway insiders to fend off health and safety regulations and [dueling with activists](https://www.nytimes.com/1989/08/02/business/cosmetics-companies-quietly-ending-animal-tests.html) who wanted to ban cosmetic testing on animals. When the elder Kavanaugh retired in 2005, his compensation package that year from the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association totaled $13 million, [according to the nonprofit group’s IRS filing](https://whowhatwhy.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/2005-CTFA-990.pdf). > **[Here's the truth about Brett Kavanaugh's finances](https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/09/heres-the-truth-about-brett-kavanaughs-finances/)** > > No, liberals, the Koch brothers don't own him. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2022, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-prevents-corruption-investigations-of-inexplicably-wealthy-politicians/977214/5 "2022-12-28T12:10:42Z")
To answer the OP: > [@slicedalone](#): > > when politicians of modest means become wealthy after entering politics (and receiving at most a modest government salary) why doesn’t this lead authorities to investigate? I think it does. Santos is the example. You’ll be hard pressed to actually find somebody who does have unexplained wealth. As I noted above, it is oftentimes a family connection that accounts for a sudden infusion of capital from a person who otherwise wants to portray themselves as “self made” or “hardscrabble” for their political benefit. ---
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2022, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-prevents-corruption-investigations-of-inexplicably-wealthy-politicians/977214/6 "2022-12-28T12:44:28Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > Claudia “Lady Bird” Johnson came from wealth. Thanks for this correction. I read Caro’s first book on LBJ when it came out, but I misremembered this fact. As to the factuality of this question, I think there are factual answers to it. If the testimony of those empowered to investigate could be cited, for example, their primary reasons for avoiding investigations of politicians would constitute some kind of factual answer. Do they tend to say “Too difficult to do” or “Not a smart career move” or “We regard such complaints about pols to be politically motivated by their opponents and therefore not our job” or “It’s more complicated than it looks” or what? ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2022, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-prevents-corruption-investigations-of-inexplicably-wealthy-politicians/977214/7 "2022-12-28T13:53:09Z")
An assessment of the likelihood of success in pursuing a prosecution is always going to be a big contributor. In the first instance they are going to need to create a good enough case to convince the appropriate prosecuting entity to proceed. If there is political influence or political taint in the mix it is likely that the bar for this is going to be significantly higher than usual. If it made known by some means, from above, that there is little stomach for pursuing a prosecution, there is little incentive to go forward with investigating in the first place. But any prosecution chasing a money trail is going to be a hard slog. Short of a video of a corrupt politician being handed a suitcase full of cash, evidence is likely going to be hard to nail down, and even harder to built a watertight case with. Modern life is filled with people who make an entire career out of obfuscating money trails, usually to avoid tax. But it doesn’t take much imagination to see how much the same tactics can move money into a politician’s pocket in a manner that would be very difficult to prove was illegitimate. All manner of constructs that appear perfectly above board can be used to provide the illusion of probity. The easy answer to the OP, is that it just becomes too hard, and ceases to be worth anyone’s time. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2022, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-prevents-corruption-investigations-of-inexplicably-wealthy-politicians/977214/8 "2022-12-28T14:00:26Z")
[Moderating] I think this thread would fare much better in Politics and Elections. Moving. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2022, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-prevents-corruption-investigations-of-inexplicably-wealthy-politicians/977214/9 "2022-12-28T14:19:40Z")
> [@slicedalone](#): > > Thanks for this correction. I read Caro’s first book on LBJ when it came out, but I misremembered this fact. Here’s a little more on her upbringing > [@](#): > > Claudia’s father, the domineering Thomas Jefferson Taylor, controlled 15,000 acres of cotton and two general stores. “Mister Boss,” as local Blacks called him, had built his small empire in less than 15 years under an aptly worded sign that hung above his general store in Karnack: “T.J. Taylor – Dealer in Everything.”… > > At 15, Lady Bird talked her father into allowing her to attend St. Mary’s Episcopal School for Girls, a junior college in Dallas. There she excelled, scoring A’s in every topic, with the exception of science of which she said, “This must be important. I just don’t know why.” > > With her work at St. Mary’s complete, Lady Bird had her choice of colleges. After considering the University of Alabama, she headed 200 miles south of Dallas to the University of Texas in Austin. > > With a big Buick and a Neiman Marcus account, Lady Bird did not want for anything when she left for Austin even in 1930, some of the darkest days of the depression. She earned a bachelors degree in arts in 1933 but stayed an extra year to earn a journalism degree. She told friends she planned on being a newspaper reporter. But then she met a 26-year-old Congressional aide and those plans took a change in direction. [https://www.pbs.org/ladybird/earlyyears/earlyyears\_index.html](https://www.pbs.org/ladybird/earlyyears/earlyyears_index.html) I think that you’ll find that this path - marrying into wealth - is a common secret source for many politicos (including some who themselves grew up fairly well off): See, for example, George Washington, Andrew Jackson, John Kerry, and Mitch McConnell. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2022, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-prevents-corruption-investigations-of-inexplicably-wealthy-politicians/977214/10 "2022-12-28T14:42:57Z")
> [@slicedalone](#): > > Why doesn’t sudden wealth, as reported in publicly available sources, get investigators interested in investigating? It depends on what “investigators” you’re talking about. The offices of attorneys general and the Dept. of Justice have enough going on that they’re unlikely to take a flyer on “this politician seems to have more money than his/her income and investments would bring in, so we’ll start an investigation.” That leaves the opposing party/politicians, and the news media. The latter (especially newspapers) have been weakened by falling revenue and limited resources, though the proliferation of less professional alternative media outlets has at least kept up speculation about dirty pols, particularly those unwise enough to have lavish lifestyles. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2022, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-prevents-corruption-investigations-of-inexplicably-wealthy-politicians/977214/11 "2022-12-28T15:18:15Z")
And that is an important part of it – these investigative entities are not going to be eager to just launch a fishing expedition on a public figure for something that cannot be identified as suspicion of a specific crime and is not societally unusual. So, you are a political figure and your private businesses start looking up. We figure, hell, sure, people are sucking up to you and trying to get on your good side that way. But if you cross all t’s and dot all i’s and file all the proper forms and reports so we can see y’all _actually did business_, and can’t point to that y’all ever offered or implied exchange of consideration outside of the business, then we got nuthin’ on you. (BTW another source of investigation: legislative oversight hearings – those CAN start just on the basis of “people are saying”; but then paradoxially we run into that because they _are_ conducted by political entities, many dismiss their findings off hand as politically tainted.) Now, if some muckraking journalist/whistleblower/legislative oversight hearings report delivers to the state AG or DOJ something that is _actual evidence_ of something _illegal_, is another story – but that has got to be more than “hey look how is this dude now living so large?” ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2022, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-prevents-corruption-investigations-of-inexplicably-wealthy-politicians/977214/12 "2022-12-28T15:27:29Z")
Bottom line: it’s not illegal for a pol to get rich off “contributions”. It’s illegal to accept “contributions” to vote a certain way or to use your executive authority to bend policies or procedures one way or another. Proving that the _entire_ cause of _this_ particular vote or policy was _that_ particular contribution is very, very difficult. Doubly so if the legislation or policy change is already more or less aligned with your party’s ideological leanings. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2022, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-prevents-corruption-investigations-of-inexplicably-wealthy-politicians/977214/13 "2022-12-28T15:43:55Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Because this is the game, and that is how the game is played. > > The very nature of American capitalism is using the power of government to change rules and regulations by which to divert public funds into your private pocket. You need politicians to do this, and the politicians aren’t going to do it for free. I don’t know what you think this is a problem unique to capitalism. All forms of government are subject to the wealthy using their power to buy influence and favorable legislation. I would suggest this problem is much worse in more centralized forms of government. > [@slicedalone](#): > > > [@Moriarty](#): > > > > Claudia “Lady Bird” Johnson came from wealth. > > Thanks for this correction. I read Caro’s first book on LBJ when it came out, but I misremembered this fact. It’s kind of an important fact, given the OP. The correct answer to the OP is that you need proof or at least strong suspicion of a crime (beyond “how did they afford that”) to initiate an investigation. And since politicians wield power and influence within government, people and organizations are often hesitant to risk their careers or reputations if they are unable to successfully prove a crime has been committed. Even with private citizens (for example Jordan Belfort of Wolf of Wall Street fame), it can be difficult to investigate. I saw the FBI agent who took down Belfort (the guy Kyle Chandler’s character was based off of in the movie) speak at a conference one time. He said one of the challenges with these sort of investigations is that they take years while district attorneys rotate in and out of their jobs pretty frequently. And with each new DA comes different priorities and political agencies. So the short answer to the OP is that these investigations are a major pain in the ass without much upside and a lot of downside if the investigators can’t prove anything. ---
**Author:** ![lum\_s\_husband](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lum_s_husband/32/3698_2.png) [@lum\_s\_husband](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lum_s_husband)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2022, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-prevents-corruption-investigations-of-inexplicably-wealthy-politicians/977214/14 "2022-12-28T16:01:43Z")
The Law exists to protect the Powerful. If it comes to pass that this is in jeopardy, changes will be made to correct this error. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2022, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-prevents-corruption-investigations-of-inexplicably-wealthy-politicians/977214/15 "2022-12-28T16:25:12Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > That leaves the opposing party/politicians … … and even they can’t accomplish much. The GOP threw everything they had at the Clintons – Whitewater, Hillary’s cattle futures, etc. – and basically came up with bupkis. If the Whitewater investigation hadn’t accidentally uncovered the Lewinsky scandal, the whole thing would have been a complete zero. (Apologies if I’m misremembering things, so set me straight if necessary, but I have no intention of derailing the thread into that old story.) ---
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2022, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-prevents-corruption-investigations-of-inexplicably-wealthy-politicians/977214/16 "2022-12-28T18:56:17Z")
> [@Akaj](#): > > even they can’t accomplish much. Especially when there’s nothing to uncover. Pisses me off, too–you’d have thought a few millions worth of investigators and six years of looking woulda turned up a spoonful of dirt on those damned Clintons. Damn their luck! ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2022, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-prevents-corruption-investigations-of-inexplicably-wealthy-politicians/977214/17 "2022-12-28T19:23:11Z")
> [@slicedalone](#): > > Especially when there’s nothing to uncover. Well, even as a Clinton supporter I had to admit those cattle futures trades looked fishy. (_grasping for cattle/fish pun_) But no one could prove anything amiss. > [@slicedalone](#): > > … you’d have thought a few millions worth of investigators and six years of looking woulda turned up a spoonful of dirt on those damned Clintons. You could argue that the cumulative findings of the investigations (including the Lewinsky business) helped level the playing field for Bush against Gore, so they ultimately achieved something. But as far as your original point in the OP – even with millions worth of investigators, it’s nigh impossible to prove corruption. So no one makes the effort. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2022, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-prevents-corruption-investigations-of-inexplicably-wealthy-politicians/977214/18 "2022-12-28T19:25:49Z")
> [@Akaj](#): > > Well, even as a Clinton supporter I had to admit those cattle futures trades looked fishy. (_grasping for cattle/fish pun_) Cattlefish, cuttlefish, whatever. These suspicious transactions all stink to high heaven. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2022, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-prevents-corruption-investigations-of-inexplicably-wealthy-politicians/977214/19 "2022-12-28T19:38:58Z")
And you realize that most of the Representatives & Senators do it. Remember the controversy when Trump refused to put his investments in a blind trust? That he could trade based on de facto insider information? Well Congressman do not put their money into blind trusts and over the last year journalists have noted how they consistently sell investments at their peak value. So who is willing to investigate Congress because investigating one will lead to investigating all. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2022, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-prevents-corruption-investigations-of-inexplicably-wealthy-politicians/977214/20 "2022-12-29T01:17:10Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Bottom line: it’s not illegal for a pol to get rich off “contributions”. It’s illegal to accept “contributions” to vote a certain way or to use your executive authority to bend policies or procedures one way or another. Actually, there are a lot of rules around politicians accepting “contributions” - both campaign contributions and personal gifts from benefactors. Just as one example, [this link to a publication from the Senate Ethics Committee](https://www.ethics.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/0b64e280-7c6b-4772-b401-50de7c78007f/flyer---gifts---oct-2020.pdf) lists the conditions and limitation under which a Senator or staff member may accept personal gifts. That said, you’re correct that a politician may _never_ accept a contribution or gift in exchange for an official act, but that’s devilishly hard to prove. The Supreme Court made it even harder in overturning the corruption conviction of former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, ruling that arranging meetings, encouraging government officials to consider the giver’s positions, etc, does not constitute a quid pro quo for “official acts.” The decision was a factor in the Department of Justice’s decision to dismiss bribery charges against Senator Bob Menendez. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-prevents-corruption-investigations-of-inexplicably-wealthy-politicians/977214.md?page=2)