This is the latest in a series of columns from attorneys at O’Melveny & Myers LLP, examining the intersections of the political and legal worlds in the run-up to Election Day 2012.
For too long, the culture of corruption has undercut development and good governance, and bred criminality and mistrust around the world . . . . It impedes our efforts to promote freedom and democracy, end poverty, and combat international crime and terrorism.1
So declared President George W. Bush in 2006. And just a few weeks ago, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a similar case, albeit more pointedly:
[T]his administration, like those before us, has taken a strong stand when it comes to American companies bribing foreign officials. We are unequivocally opposed to weakening the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. We don’t need to lower our standards. We need to work with other countries to raise theirs.2
