Taking part
corruption
Using public office for private gain. Only some of it is criminal; much of what the word covers is legal conduct the disclosure rules exist to expose.
In full
The legal category is narrow, covering bribery, extortion under color of office, and honest-services fraud. The public category is far wider and includes self-dealing, favors to donors, and the appearance of both. Because the wider category is largely lawful, transparency rules rather than prosecutions do most of the work, which is why disclosure filings are worth reading.
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Browse every term in the glossary, or see the vocabulary in motion in the How government works walkthroughs.
A plain-language explanation for civic education, not legal advice. When in doubt, the official source named above controls.