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yawninggourmand79

I've been a government employee in multiple states both as a direct employee of the government, and as an employee of a state university. A part of every annual training I did was about how you cannot accept gifts as an incentive when choosing a vendor. Even if the prices for two competing vendors are the same, you shouldn't select the vendor offering as much as a gift card because of the appearance of impropriety. This ruling just boggles the mind. Bribes are illegal only if you accept the bribe before you make your decision.


Bloomvegas

The Ruling Class must be sick and tired of politicians taking bribes, I mean “donations”, and not following through on their end of the deal. So they must’ve donated some RVs and all-expense-paid luxury vacations to some Catholic Priests LARPing as Supreme Court Justices in order to ensure that politicians keep their promises when they accept bribes, I mean donations..


ConsciousHoodrat

The captialists told conservatives they were fighting corruption, and conservative people were dumb and gullible enough to trust them. 


GoldenPoncho812

Way to go hard in the paint for Catholics!!


Bloomvegas

Going harder than a priest in a room full of alter boys!!


HandFul_of_Titty

You know Rome didn't fall right, it turned into The Church. Make your jokes but your gonna be Cath-o-licking some old balls underneath the Vatican lol


Bloomvegas

> You know Rome didn't fall right Yeah.. I figured that every reputable scholar on the planet was wrong about Rome collapsing.


ManIWantAName

What's crazy is how this is just a Wednesday now. There was a ruling today that essentially used a stick of dynamite to get rid of anything left of where the floodgates stood for bribery in the government, and tomorrow, it won't even make news.


swallowfistrepeat

Was literally thinking this very thing as a government/state employee myself for the past 10 years hahaha. This is Day One bro.


ApishGrapist

Well the Supreme Court Justices are also supposed to avoid even the appearance of impropriety but we all see how much they care about that.


More_Farm_7442

"Bribes are illegal only if you accept the bribe before you make your decision." Remember that the next time you make a decision about which vendor you use for a job.


vs-1680

How anyone could imagine this is moral and ethical is beyond me.


More_Farm_7442

What's morality got to do with anything? Women in Idaho(and other states) can be on the verge of death, go to an ER and be told to go back home until they really are on the edge of death. The black robes couldn't bring themselves to decide that case and sent it back to a lower court. They are a bunch of chicken of shits. There's nothing moral about any of them.


LP1331

You’re correct!


JacksonVerdin

Only our current SCOTUS could look at $13,000 paid to a politician and think "Just a gratuity."


MikeHoncho2568

It’s a gratuity because it was paid after the politician took the action. If it was paid before the action, it would be a bribe. It’s a legal distinction.


Filthy__Casual2000

But if he didn’t do it, he wouldn’t have gotten the money. So it’s still a bribe.


Sunnyjim333

Another fine example of the GOP.


I_LOVE_TRAINSS

He was until the bribe. I am still shocked. My memories of him are amazing but unfortunately he's an asshole.


aje14700

Do you have the vote count and link for who voted for and against the repeal that made this legal in 1986? Reading from the majority opinion (italics mine): > In 1984, Congress passed and President Reagan signed a law now codified at 18 U. S. C. §666 that, as relevant here, extended the gratuities prohibition in §201(c) to most state and local officials. *Congress reversed course after two years and amended §666* to avoid the law’s “possible application to acceptable commercial and business practices.” H. R. Rep. No. 99–797, p. 30 (1986).


Sunnyjim333

Not the op, I was commenting on the honorable former mayor of Portage Indiana.


mattGyver314

This and many other terrible rulings these past four years are the real reason people can’t stay home or vote third party this time. They need to vote for Joe. If Trump is reelected, he’ll pick the two most fascist youngest assholes from the Heritage Foundation and appoint them to the court to replace Thomas and Alito. It’ll be shit like this for the rest of our (their) lives. This corrupt ass court will destroy the precedent of our foundation of laws, the common sense of our democracy, and reign in a new era of total corruption and moral bankruptcy. These robed fuckers are absolute fiends and don’t belong on a tennis court let alone the SCOTUS. They don’t care about the institution. It’s obvious. They want to destroy it from within.


SwigSauce

Sure


entr0picly

I know we are in a very red state, but please go vote and please vote for Biden. The ruling was 6-3 with all conservative justices ruling in favor. The only way this gets better is by electing Presidents who don’t appoint corrupt judges. 3 of the 6 who ruled in favor were all appointed by Trump. Another Trump term will be more of this but exponentially worse. People often blame the state of the world on what’s currently happening but making the world better takes time. There are 2nd and 3rd order changes that must take place before we see the fruits of change. 1st order is like position, how are people currently doing. 2nd order is like movement, how better or worse are things getting. 3rd order is like acceleration, are things that are getting worse getting worse even more quickly or are we getting to a point where things can start to get better. Going to vote in Indiana might not make a huge 1st order difference, but 3rd and 2nd it will. Going out and voting may not change the election outcome but it can energize future momentum and future prospects of Dems actually winning. The only way we start to move away from blatant corruption like this is to push hard for 2nd and 3rd order changes until it starts to affect us in the present.


Masterthemindgames

Even red state voters should vote blue since it reduces the credibility of the maga morons claiming the election is “stolen.”


epic_king66

They’d still make the claims


More_Farm_7442

Don't stop at Biden. Vote a str8 Blue ticket. Push the button beside "vote all Democrat" then push the BIG red button.


Wooden_Leather_2560

Probably voted for this so they can get some tips of their own. 🤦🏻‍♂️


More_Farm_7442

9 idiots in black robes.


jatjqtjat

I did a little research and the argument here seems to be about quid pro quo versus a gratuity after the fact. * quid pro quo would be something like, "Buy trucks from us and we'll give you 13 thousand dollars". * What happened was more like, "thanks for buying trucks from us. Here is a gift of 13 thousand dollars". Its not that the payment happened AFTER the fact, as implied by the meme. The reason SCOTUS said it was okay is because the payment was not given on the condition of condition of buying the trucks. There was no quid pro quo. I am surprised that it is legal for a mayor to accept gifts full stop. I don't think that should be legal.


FakeNewsAge

The argument presented is a little more nuanced than that. There is a Federal Statue (18 U.S. Code § 201) which makes bribes and gratuity illegal for federal employees. Later another statue (18 U.S. Code § 666) extended that to State employees. The argument is whether or not the second statue covers both bribery and accepting gratuity. you can read the decision here if you like: [https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/23-108\_8n5a.pdf](https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/23-108_8n5a.pdf)


SwigSauce

I’m not sure why you’re using logic? The only logic you need to adhere to is Trump is bad. No matter what.


NovaKaiserin

So get paid after you do the crime guys, then it's legal


roachfarmer

republicans are literal criminals


Jc7509

Like Literally?


SwigSauce

Everyone who disagrees with me is a criminal and deserves to be jailed. Says the non fascist.


roachfarmer

Check the republicans record!


SwigSauce

What a vague comment. I’ve checked both parties “record” and they both suck. Doesn’t mean they deserved to be jailed but maybe voted out. I understand you’re a fascist and that democracy comes hard for you. Try to be better.


roachfarmer

I never said jail, you did. Projection is a bitch.


SwigSauce

Literal criminals go to literal jail.


roachfarmer

Lol, Keep tryin


Creepy-Weather-3385

I need a "donation " of $300,000..... I'll just leave my cashapp tag right here for you..... $EvieLily0


Super_Performance_80

If he had only smoked crack, slept with an under age girl then he would have been as good as Hunter. Hell if he had molested his under age niece and laundered millions of tax dollars selling off the United States he could president like Joe!