Letter: No Tribute

“Millions for defense, not one cent for tribute.” That was the rallying cry of outrage from the XYZ Affair during John Adams presidency. French diplomats demanded bribes before negotiating a treaty with the U.S. “Not one cent for tribute” seems appropriate in response to the Department of Justice’s settlement with Trump, which creates a slush fund to reward convicted criminals pardoned by Trump. The pardon was bad enough. Using our tax dollars to reward such individuals is nothing short of the theft of government property to build loyalty to a criminal enterprise. Those who are party to this settlement should be removed from public service. This is corruption, as is the stipulation that Trump’s taxes are exempt from scrutiny. That places him above the law in a country that used to declare that no one is above the law.