Should Sestak Squeal?

[Bricker]

@Ravenman

FWIW, I looked up the Federal bribery statute, and in general, it tends to involve some sort of payment in exchange for an “official act.”

My uninformed opinion is that if Sestak had been promised an appointment in exchange for a vote on some issue, there might be a problem. But I wouldn’t call “deciding not to run for office” an official act of a congressman. I don’t think a “political act” is the same as an “official act.”

I agree. And so far as I can determine, there is no law that would forbid offering an appointed job to a person with the intent of removing him as a candidate for an elected position. That’s called “strategy.”