Public Corruption—Michael Scanlon Guilty Plea

Influential lobbyist and former aide to Representative Tom DeLay, Michael Scanlon has pleaded guilty to conspiring to bribe public officials.^[1] It has now come to light that Mr. Scanlon has been cooperating with authorities since July.^[2] In his guilty plea, Mr. Scanlon admitted to conspiring to offer bribes to public officials and to defraud tribal clients of his public relations firm.^[3] He also agreed to make $19.7 million in restitution to the tribes he defrauded; the tribes had requested his lobbying assistance for making in-roads concerning their gambling operations.^[4]

In a prepared statement, Mr. Scanlon announced that he and Jack Abramoff, Mr. Scanlon’s business partner, had provided travel, golf outings, meals, entertainment, campaign contributions and jobs for Congressional officials, in exchange “for ‘a series of official acts and influence.’”^[5] At this point, it is unclear just how many members of Congress will be caught up in the scandal.^[6]

Conspiracy
Under 18 U.S.C. § 371, it is a crime for a person to conspire with at least one other person to commit an offense against the United States, and then make an overt act in furtherance of that offense. The punishment for a violation of section 371 is a fine, imprisonment for up to 5 years, or both.

Public Corruption
Under 18 U.S.C. § 201(b)(1), it is a crime for a person to corruptly give, offer, or promise anything of value to any public official with the intent to influence an official act, to influence a public official to commit or collude in the making of a fraud, or to induce any official to violate his duty as an official. The punishment for a violation of section 201(b)(1) is a fine not exceeding three times the value of the thing given, imprisonment for up to 15 years, or both.

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[1] Jim Drinkard, Former DeLay Aide Pleads Guilty in Conspiracy Case, USA Today, Nov. 22, 2005, available here.
[2] Pete Yost, Former DeLay Aide Has Been Cooperating in Bribery Probe Since July, Austin American Statesman, Nov. 22, 2005, available here.
[3] Drinkard, supra note 1.
[4] Id.
[5] Id.
[6] Id.