Not all politicians manage to be within the law (5)
I believe the answer is:
licit
'within the law' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
I don't understand how the rest of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for licit that I've seen before include "Honest" , "Legal" , "Not forbidden, lawful" , "Sanctioned" , "OK?" .)