The White House appears to be an ethics-free-zone. And it appears to be intentional.
The reason there are few ethical guidelines designed specifically for presidents is because it has always been assumed that the person at the helm of the most powerful nation on Earth would have little incentive to abuse the office of the presidency of the United States of America, precisely because he would be the most powerful person in the world.
The truth is, we live in the most corrupt nation in the history of the planet, at least since the advent of nations. For virtually the entire 241-year history of this country, this nation has been in a perpetual state-of-war, save for perhaps 21 years. During this timeframe; 1776 to the present, this country has illegally invaded more nations than any other country on Earth, especially in the Americas, and some, such as Mexico, several times. One source puts it at 70 nations, though it greatly minimizes the amount of financial and military support for dictatorships at the expense of freely elected governments.
Considering this history — which is not taught at U.S. K-12 schools — it is surprising that Mexico did not, or has not, constructed a defensive wall since its founding in 1821. Perhaps such a wall could have prevented the theft of half its territory during the 1830s through 1850s, as a result of war or threat of war.
But I digress. Actually, this is not a digression. It is precisely the point. This is what unrestrained military power and corruption look like. This country creates trumped-up reasons for wars, invades nations and illegally seizes territories, and then defines corruption as police officers from other nations who shakedown citizens or bureaucrats or politicians who collude with drug cartels or who skim money from the local or national treasury, etc. Corruption is never defined as nations that devour or subject smaller nations to the imperial yoke of larger nations.
For instance, former President George W. Bush began an illegal war against Iraq, wreaking havoc on the nation, killing at least 100,000, plus 5,000 U.S. deaths, and yet neither he nor his cabinet have ever been held accountable in a court of law.
