Bluesky (5/12/25)

New York Times reporter Eric Lipton (Bluesky, 5/12/25) defended his reference to lobbyists giving the Trump family millions of dollars to buy access to the president as “potentially corrupt.”

“Corruption requires explicit quid pro quo,” Lipton maintained. “It is not corrupt to take an action that aligns with the interest of a person who gives you a gift, unless the official action was in direct response to that gift—a bribe.”

Lipton was Timesplaining the legal definition of “bribery,” which has indeed been narrowed by the Supreme Court to require an explicit quid pro quo. But the president is also bound by federal laws prohibiting the solicitation of gifts (CRS, 8/16/12), and the Constitution forbids him to accept any foreign payment (or “emolument”) without congressional approval.

Moreover, “corruption” is primarily an ethical, not a legal term (SCOTUSblog, 9/25/19). Trump’s access auction certainly meets Transparency International’s definition of corruption as “the abuse of entrusted power for private gain.”

Lipton got up on his highest horse: “Terms matter. Accuracy and fairness matters. Regardless of what social media wants.” It’s hard to say what social media want, but it would be nice to have elite reporters who didn’t redefine terms to provide cover for self-enriching politicians.

ACTION ALERT: You can send a message to the New York Times at letters@nytimes.com or via Bluesky: @NYTimes.com. Please remember that respectful communication is the most effective. Feel free to leave a copy of your message in the comments thread here.

This content originally appeared on FAIR and was authored by Jim Naureckas.

This post was originally published on Radio Free.