Sigh.
It appears that we won’t be locking Rosie O’Donnell up on attempted bribery charges anytime soon, via attorney Ken White, better known as @Popehat:
/2 Yes, bribing or offering to bribe a Member of Congress is a federal crime. https://t.co/PeXSLr4lNW
— IWantNothingHat (@Popehat) December 20, 2017
/3 But note the statutory language. It's a crime when you "CORRUPTLY" give or offer to give something to a public official to influence an official act.
— IWantNothingHat (@Popehat) December 20, 2017
/4 Courts have found that "corruptly" means you must intend actually to influence or induce the public official to do something. Hence the standard jury instructions for the offense. https://t.co/ON6LWeCeXn
— IWantNothingHat (@Popehat) December 20, 2017
/5 So, for Rosie to be guilty, you'd have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the was not joking or trolling but actually intending to influence the senators.
— IWantNothingHat (@Popehat) December 20, 2017
/6 Weighing heavily against that would be the low credibility of statements on Twitter, Rosie's general goofy behavior on Twitter, and the extreme unlikeliness that anyone would think that a senator would accept and be influenced by a publicly announced direct bribe.
— IWantNothingHat (@Popehat) December 20, 2017
Recommended
/7 A joke/troll/performance art offer doesn't meet the elements of the crime. No rational jury would think this was anything but a joke/troll. No crime.
— IWantNothingHat (@Popehat) December 20, 2017
But we can still HOPE!
Counterpoint: LOCK HER UP!
— Frank J. Fleming (@IMAO_) December 20, 2017
***
Editor’s note: We’ve corrected a typo in the headline.
Related:
ICYMI ==> UNHINGED: Rosie O'Donnell offers MEGA-BUCKS to GOP pols who stop tax bill https://t.co/Sm5wBoY2Oh
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) December 20, 2017
WHOOPS! Just ONE problem with how Rosie O'Donnell's pimping her own stunning bravery https://t.co/RwJmDlX4Ux
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) December 20, 2017
SH*TSHOW: Rosie and Joy Reid join forces to attack #TaxCutsandJobsAct, and it's as stupid as you'd expect https://t.co/HTqWWzEiSl
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) December 20, 2017
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