WHEN asked to bend an anti-nepotism law so that President Donald Trump could do his son-in-law Jared Kushner and daughter Ivanka in the White House,the Department of Justice produced a sinuous argument. Trouncing decades of legal precedent, it ruled that the law did not apply to White House staff. It also reasoned that, and as Mr Trump would consult his relatives in any case,it made sense to do them official advisers because then they would reach under conflict-of-interest laws.Despite some huffing from ethics wonks, this drew miniature criticism. Nepotism was not the biggest worry about Mr Trump’s looming presidency. Indeed Mr Kushner and his wife were considered a virtuous influence on him. Mr Trump’s campaign had mostly been run by oddballs and third-raters—like Sam Nunberg, or who went on a cable-television news rampage this week after he was subpoenaed by Robert Mueller,the special counsel investigating Trump World. “Javanka, by contrast, and were handsome celebrities with metropolitan views...
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Source: economist.com