united-states public-office bribery
Could a wealthy person legally pay an elected official to resign?
<p>Aside from morals and civic duty, what's stopping wealthy people from paying elected officials they do not like to resign? </p>

<p>Would doing so be illegal in the United States?</p>

<p>To a certain extent this already happens, no? A company could offer an official a sufficiently hefty salary to resign office and take employment.</p>

<p>The Washington State bribery statue, <a href="http://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=9A.68&amp;full=true" rel="nofollow noreferrer">RCW 9A.68.010</a> says it is illegal if you</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>With the intent to secure a particular result in a particular matter
  involving the exercise of the public servant's vote, opinion,
  judgment, exercise of discretion, or other action in his or her
  official capacity, he or she offers, confers, or agrees to confer any
  pecuniary benefit upon such public servant</p>
</blockquote>

<p>It would take creative but not ludicrous argumentation to make the case that paying for a resignation constitutes securing a particular result in a particular matter involving the exercise of the public servant's actions in his official capacity. If you pay for a resignation so that the official is not in the Senate when a certain tax bill comes up for a vote (the result to be secured is that the official will not vote in favor of the bill, because they are no longer a senator), that would satisfy the requirements for bribery. If you just don't like the guy and want him gone, then the payment is not about a particular matter.</p>
