Buddy, Can You Spare A Million Bucks?
Here, just for historical purposes, is the federal bribery statute (18 U.S.C. §201(b)), a heart-warming relic of the days when accepting a cash payment in exchange for committing an official act was considered disqualifying for public officials – even/especially for Presidents:
“Whoever, being a public official or person selected to be a public official, directly or indirectly, corruptly demands, seeks, receives, accepts, or agrees to receive or accept anything of value personally or for any other person or entity, in return for:
(A) being influenced in the performance of any official act;
(B) being influenced to commit or aid in committing, or to collude in, or allow, any fraud, or make opportunity for the commission of any fraud, on the United States; or
(C) being induced to do or omit to do any act in violation of the official duty of such official or person; . . .
shall be fined under this title not more than three times the monetary equivalent of the thing of value, whichever is greater, or imprisoned for not more than fifteen years, or both, and may be disqualified from holding any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States.
Notoriously difficult to prove beyond a reasonable doubt (though don’t remind former Senator Bob Menendez of that!). I suppose that there are some readers who actually b
Article from Reason.com
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