[EL] Donors' demands to Sen. Sinema

[Rick Hasen]

I had a similar question and it has been a while since I’ve looked at the illegal gratuities statute, 18 USC 201(c).  They are not giving something for an official act.  They want to take something away. And they use "should" not must. So it doesn't seem to fit there comfortably.  The "should" language also seems to make a Hobbs Act extortion claim harder, especially in the context of a campaign contribution.  But I'm not up on the case law and perhaps there's a clearer answer. I would guess this letter was run by lawyers before being sent.

Rick Hasen
Sent from my iPhone. Please excuse typos.
________________________________
From: Law-election <law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu> on behalf of Volokh, Eugene <VOLOKH at law.ucla.edu>
Sent: Friday, January 21, 2022 11:29:50 PM
To: Election Law Listserv <law-election at uci.edu>
Subject: [EL] Donors' demands to Sen. Sinema


>From the donors’ letter<https://www.politico.com/f/?id=0000017e-7431-dbc8-a1ff-75310e2a0000> to Sen. Sinema:



We must draw a line. We cannot in good conscience support you if you refuse to use your office to protect our fundamental rights to vote, and we will be obliged to back alternatives for your seat who will do the right thing for our country. Further, we are in agreement that, should your ultimate decision be to prioritize the veneer of bipartisanship, in the form of an arcane senate rule, over the voting rights that John Lewis put his life on the line to defend, your campaign should return each of our 2018 Senate campaign donations.



Any thoughts on whether this crosses the line from permissible demand (and a permissible threat of political retaliation) into an impermissible implicit quid pro quo?  Not a rhetorical question:  I’d love to know the answer, if there is a clear answer.  Many thanks,



Eugene




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