The Trump Campaign and Bribery (Title 18 United States Code section 201)
There are a number of crimes that have been discussed that Trump and his campaign and associates could be charged with in the Mueller investigation. Some of the possibilities are; Obstruction of Justice, Providing False Statements to the FBI, Conspiracy to Violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Conspiracy Against the U.S., Conspiracy to Defraud the U.S. by Interfering in an Election, Violation of Campaign Finance Laws, Klein Conspiracy, Honest Services Fraud, and Foreign Agent Registration Act Failures.
One crime that has received very little attention is Bribery. Good ole common everyday Bribery.
Trump or others who worked on the Trump campaign could have committed Bribery. Bribery can go back to campaigns and isn’t restricted to those in office. Perhaps the best chance for a bribery charge is in relation to the Trump Tower Meeting in which Don Junior, Manafort, Kushner and a bunch of Russians met. In the lead up to this meeting the possibility of the Russians having dirt on Hillary Clinton was discussed as well as the lessening of sanctions on Russia. This involves a quid pro quo.
What would the Trump Campaign get? Help in getting Trump elected both by release of the “dirt” on Clinton and the cyber attack that took place. What would the Russians get? Relief from the sanctions imposed by Obama with respect to the invasion of the Ukraine, sanctions relative to the inference in the election and sanctions regarding the Magnitsky Act (and possible future sanctions). If this or a similar quid pro quo could be proven that would be Bribery and could carry a 15 year sentence. (Title 18 United States Code section 201) The below cited article, the basis for much of this post, says that bribery is a much easier crime to prosecute and that it is something that most Federal prosecutors are familiar with and comfortable in executing.
Partial Timeline
June 9, 2016 Trump Tower Meeting
July 22, 2016 Hacked DNC emails released
August 23, 2016 Roger Stone communicates with Guccifer 2.0
Sept. 22 and Oct 3, 2016 Wikileaks contacts Donald Trump Jr.
October 11, 2016 Genius Junior speaks to Pro-Russia Group
Another arrow in Mueller?s quiver: The special counsel would be wise to focus on a criminal law few people have so far discussed