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Would it be legal to bribe someone not to run?

Skeptic Bob

Skeptic Bob

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I'm not saying I think this will happen or that it should happen. I just thought it might be a fun hypothetical. I'm going to use Trump as an example but it could be any incumbent President.

Let's say that a sizeable percentage of US billionaires don't want Trump to run for re-election. So they all chip in money to bribe Trump to not run. It isn't a hidden bribe. It isn't disguised as campaign donations. It is publicly achknowledged that they are paying off Trump to not run for re-election.

Would that be legal? Obviously it is illegal to pay him directly to enact policies or to use his authority as POTUS. But is there anything on the books about bribing someone to just not run?
 
Skeptic Bob said:
I'm not saying I think this will happen or that it should happen. I just thought it might be a fun hypothetical. I'm going to use Trump as an example but it could be any incumbent President.

Let's say that a sizeable percentage of US billionaires don't want Trump to run for re-election. So they all chip in money to bribe Trump to not run. It isn't a hidden bribe. It isn't disguised as campaign donations. It is publicly achknowledged that they are paying off Trump to not run for re-election.

Would that be legal? Obviously it is illegal to pay him directly to enact policies or to use his authority as POTUS. But is there anything on the books about bribing someone to just not run?
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I don't have a problem with it. On a tangent but something similar was brought up regarding delegate votes for the primary. Trump was legally allowed to bribe them.
 
No issue whatsoever. The government pays farmers in many places money NOT to grow anything.............:)
 
Quickly looking at the basic Federal Bribery statute, I don't think it would be illegal since running or not for re-election is not the performance of an official act of the office. But there may be some other statute out there prohibiting it.
 
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