BERLIN — “Serious departures” from democratic norms were a core factor in driving the United States to its lowest in eight years on a global corruption index in 2020, watchdog Transparency International said on Thursday.
The group’s annual report on business leaders’ perceptions of corruption – which gave the United States a score of 67 out of 100, down from 69 in 2019 – also cited weak oversight of the country’s $1 trillion Covid-19 relief package.
That put the United States behind Bhutan and Uruguay in 25th place, down from 23rd in 2019.
Referring to alleged conflicts of interest and abuse of office at the highest level, it described what it called the U.S. president’s a…
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