“The Founders had a broader conception of bribery than what’s in the (modern) criminal code. Their understanding was derived from English law, under which bribery was understood as an officeholder’s abuse of the power of an office to obtain a private benefit rather than for the public interest.”
What did the term “bribery” mean when the Constitution was written?
“The Founders had a broader conception of bribery than what’s in the (modern) criminal code. Their understanding was derived from English law, under which bribery was understood as an officeholder’s abuse of the power of an office to obtain a private benefit rather than for the public interest.”
